Overland Park, KS -- For the second time in one week, Iowa Western faced off against Johnson County in the championship game of both of their classics respectively. Saturday (11/14) afternoon, the 14-2 Cavaliers returned the favor from the Reivers 73-72 win in the 2019 Iowa Western Classic the previous week; with a 75-73 win in their hosted classic.
Both games, like their final scores, virtually mirrored one another; as Johnson County built large leads in both contests (15 points the previous week, and 20 points Saturday); only to see the Reivers make a mad charge to take the lead in both affairs. From there on in both games it was a desperate battle for the contest's final three minutes; with Iowa Western holding on in the first game of the series at home and Johnson County making the game's final points from the foul line in their home game.
The Reivers, trailing 47-27 at the half, showed their desire to continue to fight as they have all season long. Six of Iowa Western's nine wins thus far this year have been after trailing by at least 13 or more points and had posted wins after trailing by as many as 17,16,15 points as well. The Reivers looked primed to pull off their largest comeback of the season as they held Johnson County to just 28 points in the game's second frame. Iowa Western caught the Cavaliers with 4:26 remaining, and from then on played possession basketball with three ties and three lead changes down the stretch. Iowa Western looked to potentially win the game with a Josiah Strong three-point basket out of a timeout with 18.2 seconds to go to take a one-point lead at 73-72, but on the following possession, Johnson County was fouled and made both of their free throws. to pull ahead 74-73. Iowa Western had one last great look for the win, but Alec Spence's open corner three-point look went begging with 3.2 seconds left; giving the host team the title of their winter classic.
Iowa Western had four Reivers in double figures: Josiah Strong (20pts), Seneca Louis (14pts), Damontrez Ruffin (12pts), and Kaleb Thornton (11pts).
The Reivers finish up the fall semester portion of their season with a home affair against Cloud County (KS) this Tuesday (12/17) evening at Reiver Arena. Tip Time between the Reivers and Thunderbirds is slated for 6:00 pm.