The Iowa Lakes men's basketball team advanced to the Elite 8 in the NJCAA Division 2 National Tournament today when they defeated 11th seeded North Central Missouri 79-72.
The Lakers were led by Xzavier Jones who had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Kevin Cook had 15 points and 8 rebounds, Caleb Johnson added 14 points, and Johnathan Oden had 10 points.
North Central Missouri was led by Atavian Butler with 18 points.
Head Coach Troy Larson had this to say about the game. "We could have played better today, we allowed them to get in the paint and put pressure on us defensively and then their defensive pressure gave us some fits in the first half. We were able to get in a better offensive rhythm in the second half and our guys made some plays down the stretch. We did a good job in the second half on the glass as well."
The Lakers will take on Henry Ford in the Elite 8. The Hawks who are from Dearborn, MI were 11-4 this year upset the 3rd seed South Suburban 67-58 to advance to the Elite 8.
All games throughout the duration of National Tournament can be streamed live on the NJCAA Network: https://www.njcaa.org/network.
Link to Roster: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/roster
Link to Schedule: https://iowalakesathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/schedule
MEDIA: For more information, please contact Head Men's Basketball Coach Troy Larson at (712) 362-7915 or the Iowa Lakes sports information office at (712) 362-7928.
