INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, MINNESOTA -- Led by a triple-double from Issakha Niang, the Ellsworth men's basketball team won its 20th game of the season Wednesday night, getting by Dakota County Tech, 62-56.

Niang, a sophomore from Senegal, tied for ECC scoring honors with 13 points, pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.  Niang now leads all of NJCAA Division II in blocks with 83, an average of 3.5 per game, for an ECC team that is the national leader in blocks by a wide margin.  The Panthers have swatted away an average of 10.3 shots a game.

Against Dakota County Tech, Ellsworth had enough offense to post its 5th straight win, despite scoring its second-fewest points in a game this year.  The Panthers got 13 points from reigning ICCAC Athlete of the Week Shawn Fulcher and 12 from Arlandus Keyes.  Fulcher contributed 6 assists and 3 steals to the ECC victory.

The Panthers' strong defensive effort included holding DCTC to 29 percent field goal shooting and limiting them to 3-for-17 in 3-point attempts.

This is the first 20-win season for ECC since the 2013-14 squad went 22-10.

Ellsworth will try to add to its win total when it hosts DMACC in a key ICCAC contest Saturday afternoon at Dittmer Gym.  The Panthers are currently in 4th place in the league standings, one game behind DMACC, who is tied with Kirkwood for 2nd.