BOONE, IOWA -- In a season in which they have had more than their share of tough losses, the Ellsworth Panthers finally got a signature win on Tuesday night against DMACC.  Playing the nation's 3rd-ranked team on their home court in the first round of the Region XI postseason tournament, ECC took a 32-29 halftime lead, fell behind in the second half, then came back to pull out a shocking 66-64 win.  Josh Kamara of Ellsworth hit one-of-two free throws to tie the score at 64-all and, after a DMACC turnover, Adam Jackson was fouled with 0.3 seconds on the clock.  ECC's leading scorer calmly knocked down both free throws for the victory.

The Panthers have lost five games by five or fewer points and had halftime leads in a number of other contests, including a home game with conference champ Indian Hills.  They had continuously been thwarted, until Tuesday.  In the two regular-season matchups with the Bears, the Panthers lost by 12 at DMACC and by eight at home.  Now, with a chance to extend their season with a postseason win, ECC took advantage.

Panthers coach Troy Muilenburg praised his team's play, especially on the defensive end.  "We played solid, made them earn every basket and did a good job sharing the ball," the ECC coach said.

Jackson was the lone double-figure scorer for Ellsworth with 22 points.  He added five steals.  Kamara grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists.  Rich Ashu and Jordan Kerr provided valuable minutes and points off the bench, scoring nine and eight points, respectively.  Junior Bodden picked off eight boards and had three blocks.

ECC won on a night when they didn't shoot the ball that well -- only making 40 percent of their field goal attempts, 5-of-23 3-pointers and 15-of-26 free throws.  But they tied a season-low with their nine turnovers and made clutch plays when they needed to against a DMACC team that was 17-4 coming into the game.

Muilenburg pointed to the fact that his squad has gotten better as the season has gone along, after a rough first semester dealing with COVID issues.  "We just needed to find a way to win a game like this," he said.

Now the Panthers play the only other team they have beaten this year when they take on Southwestern CC in Creston Thursday night at 7:00 in the semifinals of the tourney.  A victory against the Spartans, at a place where the Panthers already own a win this year, would put ECC in the region championship game on Saturday.