Council Bluffs, IA -- #20 Iowa Western opened up the 2017 Iowa Western Men's Basketball Classic with a 103-88 victory over (8-2) Sunrise Christian Academy. Sunrise Christian, fresh off a NJCAA D1 victory Tuesday night at Northern Oklahoma-Enid, played the home-standing Reivers close for the first 20 minutes of action; trailing only by four at intermission 40-44.
The Reivers (10-1) then put the pedal down in the first 12 minutes of the second half to end the competitive aspect of the contest, ultimately reaching a 28 point lead with 8:06 left in the contest. The Buffaloes, who hale from Wichita, KS, closed the gap late but were never within much reach of Iowa Western down the stretch. The 103 score marks the fifth time this season the Reivers have eclipsed the century mark.
Iowa Western was lead by the double-double efforts of Isaiah Wade. The 6'8 forward scored a game high 24 points on 11/13 shooting and a game high 13 rebounds. Jevon Smith had a solid all around contest with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Three other Reivers joined Wade and Smith with double figure scoring: Patrick Dembley (15), Decardo Day (14), and Adalberto Diaz (12).
Sunrise Christian Academy was lead in scoring by Wichita State University signees Chance Moore and Isaiah Chandler. Both scored 19 a piece and both are committed to play next season for Greg Marshall's Shockers who are currently ranked #8 in the NCAA men's basketball poll.
The win improves the Reivers' record to 10-1 and sets up essentially a "championship game" against Northwest Kansas Tech tomorrow night (12/2) at 7:00pm. Northwest Kansas Tech won an overtime contest against State Fair (MO) 86-83 in the 5:00pm match-up of the classic. The win for the Mavericks improves their record to 10-2; setting up a rare two 10 win team match-up this early in December.
Tomorrow's classic game schedule will open with the 5:00pm consolation game: Sunrise Christian Academy (8-3) vs State Fair (8-3), and an estimated 7:00pm championship game (directly following the 5:00pm contest): Iowa Western (10-1) vs Northwest Kansas Tech (10-2).
