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Iowa Central 74,

North Central Missouri 52

Iowa Central - Terell Parks 10-14 1-2 21, Nathan Akers 6-7 3-4 15, Josh Henry 5-10 1-2 15, Kurt Alexander 3-7 3-5 9, Micheal Martin 3-9 0-0 6, Ismiah Roundtree 1-4 0-1 3, Jacob Peterson 1-4 0-0 2, Tyler Poldervaart 1-1 0-0 2, Matt Culjak 0-1 1-2 1, Wiebe Goodyk 0-9 0-0 0; Totals: 30-67 9-16 74.

North Central Missouri - Chris Beasley 6-8 1-1 13, Kai Randolph 5-12 0-1 11, Ethan Stricken 3-7 0-0 6, Jawan Davis 2-6 0-0 5, Xavier Boone 1-4 3-4 5, Matt Wilbers 2-3 0-0 4, Steven Johnson 1-2 1-2 3, John Hart 1-1 0-0 2; Totals: 22-60 5-8 52.

Halftime score: Iowa Central 32-23; Turnovers: North Central Missouri 16, Iowa Central 10; Rebounds: Iowa Central 30, North Central Missouri 26.

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The Iowa Central men's basketball team used a consistent effort on both ends of the floor to cruise past cold-shooting North Central Missouri by a wide margin.

Iowa Central (2-0 overall) held the Pirates (1-2 overall) to 37 percent shooting from the floor and won 74-52 here Tuesday behind a 21 point effort from freshman Terell Parks.

"Our defense is ahead of schedule right now and they gave a great performance," said head coach Dennis Pilcher. "Our offense isn't firing on all cylinders yet, but we came out with a lot of positives from this game."

North Central Missouri came out poised and held a lead for the opening nine minutes, but a lay-up from Josh Henry tied the game up at 13-13. Back-to-back field goals by Parks in the post gave Iowa Central a four-point advantage, and the Pirates were never able to pull any closer.

The Tritons went into halftime with a nine-point edge, but a smothering defensive effort was able to push Iowa Central out in front by a wide margin.

A field goal from Nathan Akers off a steal from Josh Henry capped a 9-0 run that put Iowa Central up 52-34 with 10:59 left in the game.

The combination of 6-foot-6 Parks and 6-8 Akers gave Iowa Central 32 points in the paint, and a thunderous dunk from Parks expanded the Tritons' lead to 23 with five minutes left in the contest.

"Good things happen when you get the ball inside, because it creates space and options," said Pilcher. "We took advantage of that when we thought we could break them down. Overall, I was very pleased with the effort."

The Triton defense forced 16 turnovers and held the Pirates to 37 percent shooting on the floor, while Iowa Central's offense shot 45 percent. The Tritons had the edge in rebounding 30-26.

Parks made 10 of 16 field goals and finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Akers had 15 points and seven rebounds as well. Henry finished with 15 points, making four three-pointers.

Contact Brady Johnson at (515) 573-2141 or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net