IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- For the second time in five days the Ellsworth men's basketball team got some payback for an earlier defeat, downing NIACC, 76-65, on Wednesday night.  And this was an especially satisfying win, coming in veteran Coach Troy Muilenburg's final regular season game at Dittmer Gym.  Muilenburg, in his 23rd year at the helm, saw his squad overcome a 31-29 halftime deficit by outscoring the Trojans 47-34 in the second 20 minutes.  Adding to the importance of the victory was the fact it stopped a 7-game NIACC winning streak in the head-to-head series with the Panthers.

The outcome came on the heels of ECC's win against Iowa Central last Saturday, another team that, like NIACC, owned an earlier decision against Ellsworth.

Richie Warren led the Panthers' scoring in Wednesday's win with 17 points.  Tom Stanley added 16 and Junior Bodden chipped in 11 to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds, a total that helped ECC to a 47-34 edge on the glass.  Warren and Stanley each had 3 assists.  The Panthers' low turnover total (10) helped to offset their 38 percent shooting.  NIACC made only 39 percent of their field goal attempts.

This year's ECC sophomore team members were recognized along with Coach Muilenburg at the game.

Ellsworth's record is now 15-14 and they will try to make it three straight wins when they conclude the regular season schedule with a contest at Iowa Western on Saturday.