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Triton men knock off Iowa Western

Not long after soaking in the joys of a victory over Iowa Western, Chad Helle was already looking ahead to the next opponent.

Riding the heels of a strong second half, the Iowa Central men posted a 95-91 victory over Iowa Western here Saturday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

PJ Ngambi had 24 points, Javonte Keck 19 and seven rebounds, and Jaxon Smith added 19 with four rebounds off the bench as the Tritons improved to 2-0 on the year.

“We have to protect this win,” Helle said. “We’ve got our first road game coming up Wednesday at Ellsworth, and we have to protect this one.

“I told the guys that maybe we didn’t have a lot of expectations on us (from outside the program). Five teams in our conference are ranked and three are not, but after these wins, maybe we are starting to poke our heads through the weeds and people are noticing that we are a good team — and are for real.”

Ngambi and Smith, both freshman, came alive over the final 20 minutes, scoring 28 points as part of a 57-point half. Keck, who started last year, was involved in a game-changing play late in the fourth.

After battling for a loose ball, Keck was awarded possession. As a member of the Reiver team walked towards the bench, a technical foul was called. Smith stepped to the line and made both free throws, and Keck followed with a three-point play that turned a one-point deficit into a four-point Iowa Central lead.

“What a veteran play there by Javonte,” Helle said. “Maybe that is a play he doesn’t make as a freshman. And for Jaxon to step to the line and knock down those shots, that was huge. He’s just a blue-collar type kid that comes from a winning program (Ankeny captured the Class 4A state title last year in basketball).

“He hustles, works his butt off and makes winning plays.”

Jayden Stephens added 12 points and five rebounds, Ayris Abdelnassar nine points and Jordan Majeed had five points and four assists for the Tritons. Dewayne Vass had 26 and Elijah Pickens 16 to lead Iowa Western.

IOWA CENTRAL 95, IOWA WESTERN 91

Iowa Central – PJ Ngambi 8-13 3-3 24, Jordan Majeed 2-6 0-0 5, Javonte Keck 6-17 5-7 19, Cham Deng 2-4 0-0 4, Uzo Dibiamaka 0-3 0-0 0, Ayris Abdelnassar 3-6 3-3 9, Zavian Ricks 1-1 1-2 3, Cornell Richardson 0-2 0-0 0, Jaxon Smith 4-7 8-8 19, Jayden Stephens 4-6 2-2 12. Totals: 30-65 22-25 95.

Iowa Western – Roland McCoy 5-12 0-0 13, Kelvin Balfour 5-12 1-2 12, Marcedus Leech Jr. 7-16 0-0 14, Elijah Pickens 6-12 2-2 16, Karl Jones 0-1 0-1 0, Dante Wheeler 2-2 2-2 6, Romanique Hellems 0-1 0-0 0, Dewayne Vass 8-17 9-11 26, Elijah Bishop 0-1 0-0 0, Joe Doyle 2-2 0-0 4. Totals: 35-76 14-18 91.

Halftime score: Iowa Western led 43-38. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 13-33 (Ngambi 5, Majeed 1, Keck 2, Smith 3, Stephens 2), Iowa Western 7-29. Rebounds: Iowa Central 31, Iowa Western 48. Assists: Iowa Central 16, Iowa Western 6. Turnovers: Iowa Central 13, Iowa Western 19. Steals: Iowa Central 8, Iowa Western 2. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 1, Iowa Western 4.

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