Photo by Iowa Central Athletics: Aleix Sempere of Iowa Central dunks against Kirkwood on Wednesday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse. The eighth-ranked Eagles escaped the No. 4 Tritons, 82-80.

Two ICCAC heavyweights traded blows here Wednesday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

After 40 minutes of action that featured several momentum swings, a 3-pointer by Kirkwood’s Chris Coleman with 1.4 seconds left was the difference, as the eighth-ranked Eagles downed No. 4 Iowa Central, 82-80.

Coleman came off the bench to hit four triples, scoring 16 points for Kirkwood (9-3 overall, 2-2 in league), who suffered a loss this past weekend to Central at home. Cole Marsh had 17 while Tyler Netolicky had 14 and Manasse Kasongo added 11.

For the Tritons (11-1, 3-1), Aleix Sempere had a game-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds. CJ Mitchell scored 19, Tashun Pender had 13 and Dorian Pruitt 11.

Early in the second half, Iowa Central would take a 14-point lead when Jalen Wynter sank a 3-pointer to cap a 13-2 run. Kirkwood would not go away, though, slowly cutting the deficit down.

Marsh tied it at 70-all with just over six minutes to play, but Sempere answered with a thunderous dunk and completed the traditional 3-point play. Another Marsh triple was followed by a Ben Bockman layup, putting the Eagles ahead, 75-73, with 4:25 to play.

Kasongo gave Kirkwood a four-point cushion before Pruitt sank a 3-pointer with just under three to go.

Pender’s successful free throw with 14 seconds left put Iowa Central back up at 80-79, but Coleman was able to get enough space between his defender to launch and drain the game-winning triple.

Sempere and Netolicky carried the load for their respective team in the first half, as Sempere scored 12 points with seven rebounds while Netolicky had 12 and 10 rebounds. Mitchell had 12 of his 19 points over the final 20 minutes.

Triton Manny Lueth added eight points.

Netolicky was part of the rotation last year when the Eagles won the NJCAA national title. He had eight points and five rebounds in the 2025 championship game.

Kirkwood held a plus-10 advantage on points in the paint and were plus-32 on bench points thanks in large part to the play of Coleman and Marsh. The Eagles shot 54 percent from the field and made 12 triples.

Iowa Central returns to the road this Saturday, taking on Southwestern in Creston. The rematch with Kirkwood is set for Feb. 11 in Cedar Rapids from Johnson Hall.

KIRKWOOD 82, IOWA CENTRAL 80

Iowa Central — Tashun Pender 5-12 2-3 13, Manny Lueth 3-9 0-0 8, CJ Mitchell 8-18 1-2 19, Jalen Wynter 3-9 0-0 9, Aleix Sempere 7-10 5-9 20, Dorian Pruitt 3-9 2-2 11, Carter Loney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-67 10-16 80.

Kirkwood — Kayvion Hodges 1-1 2-4 4, Manasse Kasongo 5-5 0-0 11, Germaine Benson 1-3 0-0 2, Ben Bockman 3-11 0-0 8, Tyler Netolicky 7-13 0-0 14, Richard Lindsey, Jr. 3-4 0-0 7, Yaris Irby 1-4 0-0 3, Hakeal Powell 0- 0-0 0, Grayson Wollum 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Lieurance 0-1 0-0 0, Cole Marsh 6-8 2-2 17, Chris Coleman 6-11 0-0 16. Totals: 33-61 4-6 82.

Halftime score: Iowa Central led 38-35. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 12-31 (Pender 1-1, Lueth 2-6, Mitchell 2-5, Wynter 3-9 Sempere 1-1, Pruitt 3-9), Kirkwood 12-28. Total rebounds: Iowa Central 33, Kirkwood 29. Assists: Iowa Central 15, Kirkwood 16. Steals: Iowa Central 7, Kirkwood 3. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 1, Kirkwood 3. Turnovers: Iowa Central 10, Kirkwood 12. Team fouls: Iowa Central 8, Kirkwood 12.