Photo by Paul DeCoursey Royshawn Webb works the ball up the court for Iowa Central against Iowa Western on Saturday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

The Iowa Central men stood toe-to-toe with Iowa Western here Saturday for 40 minutes, battling to a 69-64 loss inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Emmanuel Ugboh, a 6-foot-11 center from Nigeria, scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Reivers, who boast eight players on their active roster that are at least 6-foot-6.

For the Tritons, Royshawn Webb had 19 and nine rebounds, with Dallas Bailey adding 11 and eight.

“No ifs, ands or buts about it — our kids played hard,” ICCC head coach Dennis Pilcher said. “We just made too many key mistakes down the stretch that Iowa Western took advantage of.

“But for as small as we are, I’m just incredibly pleased with the effort we gave.”

Iowa Central (7-9 overall) fell in a 14-point hole early in the first half, but thanks to six 3-pointers and a 22-18 advantage in total rebounds, rallied to tie the game at 36-all.

Webb scored 11 in the opening 20 minutes and Jaden Kephart came off the bench to sink a pair of triples. Collin Shannon, Kane Kramer, Webb and Bailey also made 3-pointers during a 24-10 run for the Tritons.

“A couple of shots didn’t go our way and we had too many turnovers,” Pilcher said. “Our margin for error is so small that in the end, that’s what decided the game. We played a little tight early on, but Royshawn gave us a great effort and Collin stepped up and had a good first half.”

Ugboh, who has received offers from North Dakota, Missouri State and Kent State among others, had 16 points in the first half on 7-for-7 shooting.

Thanks to the sophomore’s inside presence, Iowa Western finished plus-11 on second-chance points despite being out-rebounded, 42-40.

Kramer finished with eight points and four rebounds, with Austin Jarvis adding four points and eight boards. Kephart and Jesse Moss each scored eight.

Next action for the Tritons will be Wednesday when they travel to No. 14 NIACC.

IOWA WESTERN 69, IOWA CENTRAL 64

Iowa Central — Collin Shannon 2-9 0-0 6, Kane Kramer 3-6 0-0 8, Royshawn Webb 7-13 4-4 19, Dallas Bailey 4-17 2-2 11, Austin Jarvis 2-6 0-0 4, Aspen LaPointe 0-0 0-0 0, Jaden Kephart 3-5 0-0 8, Jesse Moss 1-6 5-6 8. Totals: 22-62 11-12 64.

Iowa Western — Parker Hazen 1-7 0-0 2, Christian Bentley 4-9 1-4 10, Caleb Huffman 2-9 2-2 7, Travon Broadway 5-10 0-2 13, Emmanuel Ugboh 9-11 2-4 20, Willard Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Marques Watson 2-4 2-5 6, Seneca Louis 4-8 0-0 9, Amadou Sylla 1-2 0-0 2, Boubacar Diakite 0-1 0-0 0, Esahia Nyiwe 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 28-62 7-17 69.

Halftime score: Tied 36-36. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 9-25 (Shannon 2-6, Kramer 2-4, Webb 1-1, Bailey 1-7, Kephart 2-2, Moss 1-5), Iowa Western 6-23 (Hazen 0-3, Bentley 1-4, Huffman 1-4, Broadway 3-7, Anderson 0-1, Louis 1-3, Diakite 0-1). Total rebounds: Iowa Central 42, Iowa Western 40. Assists: Iowa Central 10, Iowa Western 10. Turnovers: Iowa Central 13, Iowa Western 13. Points off turnovers: Iowa Central 11, Iowa Western 8. Team fouls: Iowa Central 15, Iowa Western 14.