—Messenger photos by Britt Kudla Iowa Central’s Marquis Henry shoots around Kirkwood on Wednesday inside Hodges Fieldhouse. The Triton men lost 79-68.

Chad Helle can see exactly where he needs more out of his Iowa Central men’s basketball team.

Getting that final push, though, remains a mystery.

The Tritons battled their way back from an early deficit here Wednesday night, but could not get over the last hurdle, falling to No. 13 Kirkwood, 79-68.

Luke Appel and Devonte Thedford took over for the Eagles (12-3 overall, 2-0 in ICCAC), scoring 26 of their 39 points in the second half. Appel, a former Marshalltown High School standout, had 20 and Thedford 19.

“We’re right there,” Helle said. “We played 36 good minutes of basketball (Wednesday) night, but those four minutes, that was what decided the game.

“It’s like we get to that hump, but just can’t get over it.”

Marquis Henry led four Iowa Central (5-10, 0-2) players in double figures with 16. Zack Foulks — making his season debut — scored 15 with four 3-pointers, Andrew Gibb chipped in 12 and Jeremiah Hurst 10.

After trailing for much of the first half, the Tritons gained a 31-28 lead on a three-point play by Gibb. That advantage was short-lived, though, as Kirkwood closed on a 9-3 run.

“Their experience really took over at certain times against our inexperience,” Helle said. “I am hopeful that, by being in this many close-game situations, we’ll get one of them, take control and really take off from there.”

Henry put Iowa Central back on top early in the second half with a pair of triples, but the Eagles again relied on Appel and Thedford to get them through.

Kirkwood was plus-14 on points in the paint and turned 18 Triton turnovers into 23 points.

Hurst had eight rebounds, Keck grabbed six and Henry dished out five assists with four steals.

Iowa Central returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Creston to face Southwestern. Tip is set for 3 p.m.

KIRKWOOD 79, IOWA CENTRAL 68

Iowa Central — Ayris Abdelnassar 1-9 2-2 4, Jeremiah Hurst 3-8 4-6 10, Andrew Gibb 4-5 4-5 12, Javonte Keck 2-5 0-1 4, Marquis Henry 5-13 3-4 16, Zack Foulks 5-10 1-2 15, Arthur Weston 0-2 0-0 0, Jeremy Kambomba 2-3 0-0 4, Cham Deng 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 23-56 14-20 68.

Kirkwood — Seybian Sims 1-5 1-2 3, Chris Burnell 4-7 0-2 9, Devonte Thedford 9-18 0-0 19, Luke Appel 9-17 1-4 20, Griffen Clark 1-2 0-0 3, Gacoby Jones 2-4 2-3 7, Jamal Stephenson 4-8 7-7 16, Owen Coburn 1-2 0-0 2, Niko Gosnell 0-2 0-2 0. Totals: 31-65 11-20 79.

Halftime score: Kirkwood led 37-34. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 8-24 (Henry 3, Foulks 4, Deng), Kirkwood 6-20 (Burnell, Thedford, Appel, Clark, Jones, Stephenson). Total rebounds: Iowa Central 38, Kirkwood 39. Assists: Iowa Central 9, Kirkwood 8. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 3, Kirkwood 3. Steals: Iowa Central 6, Kirkwood 5. Turnovers: Iowa Central 18, Kirkwood 14.