IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- The ECC men's basketball team picked up its first victory in nearly a month, knocking off Northeast (Neb.), 86-67, Saturday at home.  In fairness, the Panthers had only played twice since winning at Iowa Central on Dec. 17, but their success against Northeast put an end to a two-game losing streak and gave Ellsworth its first victory of 2023.  It was the 14th win of the season for 14th-ranked ECC and moved them to a game over .500 in the league at 4-3.

"It was great to return home and get a win, it felt like forever since our last one," said Ellsworth coach Bryan Bender.  "It was a solid team effort, especially on the defensive end.  We played a fairly statistically sound Ellsworth game.  We got out and ran, blocked shots, won the rebound battle and attacked the paint."

The Panthers added 17 to their national-best blocked shots total -- they are averaging just over 10 blocks per game.  Issakha Niang swatted 7 shots and Saliou Seye had 4.

Bender refers to Shawn Fulcher and Dior Davis as his "New York City guards" and they led the ECC scoring with 19 and 17 points, respectively, and the coach said they scored "when we needed them to."  Fulcher added 5 assists.  Rich Ashu continued his dominant play of late with a team-high 11 rebounds.

Arlandus Keyes contributed 13 points off the bench and knocked down 3 3s and Jordan Glenn-Hawkins chipped in 10 points.  The Panthers put up 51 points in the first half and led by 18 at intermission.

"We have a tough 3-game road stretch coming up," Bender said, "and we're excited to get back to normalcy with classes and routines.  I hope we are up to the challenge."

The road battles start at Marshalltown CC this Wednesday and continue with ICCAC games at DMACC Jan. 21 and Iowa Lakes Jan. 25.