Reivers respond with strong defensive effort

Council Bluffs, IA -- The Iowa Western men's basketball team dealt with it's first taste of adversity Friday evening and responded from it with a resolved team effort against a quality Kansas Jayhawk Conference foe Saturday night.  The Reivers, who had received their first set-back of the 2017-18 season the previous night made a concerted defense effort all evening long, controlled the game from the opening tip and never looked back in a game that saw no ties and only one early lead change; in a convincing 93-75 victory over Labette (KS) in the final game of the 2017 Holiday Inn / Hampton Inn Reiver Classic.

Iowa Western had two players earn double-doubles in both points and rebounds; Jevon Smith scored a game high 26 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and Isaiah Wade added 20 points while also getting 10 boards.

However, it was not the 93 points that told the real story.  Iowa Western was able to handle Labette's 40 minutes of full court pressure; thanks in large part to guards Decardo Day, Rhyss Lewis, Shadeed Shabazz, and Patrick Dembley's decision making under pressure. 

Most importantly of all, it was the resolve and consistent team effort defensively that defined the win against the visiting Cardinals.  The Reivers responded with a gutty half court defense that controlled Labette for most of the entire contest.  The visiting team from Kansas shot just 37% from the half court, though some late second half run-outs did bump the overall field goal percentage up to 43% by games end after the contest was no longer in doubt.

Up next for the Reivers will be Central (NE) out of Columbus, NE this Tuesday evening at Kanesville Arena.  Tip-off for the Reivers vs Raiders tilt will be 7:00pm.