Norris's DMACC men's basketball team wins Region 11-A title

Freshman Brent Taylor of Flossmoor, Ill., led five players in double figures with 22 points as the DMACC men’s basketball team handed Iowa Western Community College (IWCC) an 89-73 loss in the championship game of the Region 11-A basketball tournament March 3 inside the DMACC gymnasium.

Sophomore Kaden Tate of Pearland, Texas, recorded a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds and freshman Landen Norris of Knoxville, sophomore Rylan Smith of Lincoln, Neb., and freshman Hunter Gawron of Skokie, Ill., tallied 13, 12 and 11 points respectively as the Bears improved to 31-1 with their 25th consecutive victory.

With the win DMACC advances to the 2026 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men’s Basketball Championship for the sixth time in the past seven seasons. The tournament will be played March 16 to 21 at Danville, Ill. Tournament seedings and pairings are expected to be announced next week.

Ironically, the win over IWCC gave DMACC its first regional championship since 2022 and its first during Blake Sandquist’s four seasons as head coach. The Bears, who advanced to the national tournament via at-large selections in 2025 and 2024, also tied a school record for most wins in a season.

DMACC, ranked second in the NJCAA Division II poll, never trailed in beating the Reivers for the third time this season. The Bears had a 10-point lead early, saw IWCC claw back for a 19-19 tie and then pulled away again and maintained control through the remainder of the game. DMACC led 45-37 at halftime.

Sandquist said it is extremely tough to beat a team three times in a season, especially a ranked team. IWCC entered the game at No. 24 in NJCAA Division II.

“The nice thing is we had them scouted pretty well by this point in the season so there wasn’t a ton of extra work. We just had to sharpen up the game,” Sandquist said. “It’s hard though because they are going to know everything about us. The big part for us was staying with our game plan and wearing them down.”

DMACC’s bench factored into the win. Seven players saw 12 or more minutes of playing time and another player was on the court for nine minutes.

“Our depth has been a key for us the entire season,” Sandquist said. “Even if a team can keep it close for a while, over time we have the ability to wear them down through a multitude of different lineups. We have guys who can impact the game in different ways and we’re very versatile which is very nice.”

Sandquist said he and his team have downplayed their winning streak and seldom talk about it.

“We try not to pay attention to streaks and just focus on the game that’s ahead of us,” Sandquist said. “We talk a lot about our last win and how that felt and remind the guys to keep that in the back of their heads.

“Although we haven’t lost, we’ve played a lot more closer games than we have the last two years and I think we’re a little more battle tested. Our conference is ridiculously tough with five team rated in the top 25 throughout the year.”

The Bears had another good shooting night, making 36 of 66 field goal attempts for 55 percent. They were 10-of-27 from three-point range and 7-of-11 from the free throw line.

Taylor and Smith were particularly effective from three-point range. Taylor made three of six shots and Smith was 4of-7.

IWCC, led by J.P. Suma’s 24 points, made 26 of 59 field goal attempts for 44 percent. The Reivers were 8-of-28 from beyond the arc and 13-of-19 from the free throw line. They ended the season at 23-9.

Tate’s 15 rebounds helped the Bears control the boards, 36-23. He also led DMACC in assists with five and Taylor and Gawron had four assists apiece. Tate was the team leader in steals with four and he and freshman Kiki Deng of Des Moines had two blocked shots apiece.

Taylor, Gawron and Tate were named to the all-tournament team announced at the conclusion of the game. Tate was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Sandquist said he plans to give his players several days off before they regroup and begin preparations for the national tournament.

“We’re going to let the guys get refreshed physically and mentally,” Sandquist said. “We’ll continue to work on what we can control and once we find out our draw (in the national tournament), we’ll prepare for whomever we might play. We’re going to try and enjoy the last couple of weeks we have with this group.”