Photo by Iowa Central Athletics: Jordan Cain dunks for Iowa Central on Wednesday night against NIACC inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

The fifth-ranked Iowa Central men suffered a tough 104-99 overtime loss to North Iowa Area here Wednesday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

After Jordan Cain hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime, the Trojans (11-7 overall, 4-5 in the ICCAC) were able to secure the road win, outscoring the Tritons 16-11 in the extra period.

Iowa Central (15-3, 7-2) was led by Aleix Sempere’s 29 points, as the sophomore also collected 16 rebounds. CJ Mitchell scored 26 points with nine assists, and Cain had 19 with eight rebounds and four steals.

For NIACC, TJ Cusciotta had 30 points to lead five players in double figures. The Trojans took the lead in the second half with just over four to play, going up by as many as five before Cain’s triple from deep forced overtime.

Iowa Central scored the first three points of the extra session to lead 91-88 before the Trojans went on a 7-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from Bryson Robinson to make it 100-96 with 31 seconds to play.

Sempere had 13 points and 11 rebounds after the half, as Mitchell scored seven in overtime.

Manny Lueth added 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

NIACC finished 20 of 23 from the free throw line compared to only 12-for-21 shooting by Iowa Central at the charity stripe. The Trojans also received 48 points off the bench.

The Tritons return to action Saturday when they host second-ranked Des Moines Area at 3 p.m. The Bears topped 11th-ranked Iowa Western last night, 88-82.

NIACC 104, IOWA CENTRAL 99 (OT)

Iowa Central — Manny Lueth 6-15 1-1 16, CJ Mitchell 11-25 3-4 26, Jalen Wynter 3-6 0-0 9, Aleix Sempere 11-18 7-12 29, Jordan Cain 8-17 1-4 19, Dorian Pruitt 0-4 0-0 0, Carter Loney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 39-85 12-21 99.

NIACC — Cameron Reigard 1-5 0-0 2, TJ Cusciotta 9-17 12-13 30, Joseph Fitch 2-3 1-2 5, RJ Mitchell 3-8 0-0 7, Kam’ron Solomon 4-8 2-2 12, Jacob Martin 3-11 5-6 13, Lance Helming 4-5 0-0 12, Ty Franklin 6-7 0-0 14, Jordan Terhune 4-7 0-0 9. Totals: 36-71 20-23 104.

Halftime score: Iowa Central led 47-40. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 9-35 (Lueth 3-10, Mitchell 1-8, Wynter 3-5, Sempere 0-1, Cain 2-8, Pruitt 0-3), NIACC 12-25 (Reigard 0-2, Cusciotta 0-1, Mitchell 1-4, Solomon 2-4, Martin 2-4, Helming 4-5, Robinson 2-3, Terhune 1-2). Total rebounds: Iowa Central 40, NIACC 40. Assists: Iowa Central 16, NIACC 13. Steals: Iowa Central 10, NIACC 5. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 4, NIACC 1. Turnovers: Iowa Central 10, NIACC 18. Team fouls: Iowa Central 19, NIACC 16.