IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- The 7th-ranked Ellsworth CC men's basketball team takes a 5-game winnings streak into the holiday break after drubbing visiting Southwestern CC, 78-53, Saturday at Dittmer Gym.  The Panthers took the lead for good at 25-23 in the 1st half, led 40-33 at intermission, then limited SWCC to only 20 second-half points in staying undefeated in league play.  ECC is 4-0 in the conference and 12-2 overall.

In the latest win, Ellsworth made 52.4 percent of their field goals and 47.6 percent from behind the arc.  They dished out a season-high 26 assists (on 33 made baskets) and tied a season-low with 11 turnovers.

Four of five ECC starters reached double figures in scoring, led by Jordan Glenn-Hawkins with 20 points.  Chimobi Ikegwuruka had 19 points and 9 rebounds.  Jaron Crews and Clinton Efinda scored 10 each.  The lone starter not in double figures was Bessanty Saragba, but he grabbed a team-best 13 rebounds and blocked 4 shots.  Arlandus Keyes had 6 assists.

Coach Bryan Bender's Panthers won't play again until a Jan. 3 date at NIACC.  The coach is happy with where his squad is after 14 games, saying, "We speak often about the acronym NATO (Not Attached to Outcomes).  I think if you focus on becoming a champion rather than winning championships the behaviors will come before our success.  I do like our group, and we are just scratching the surface of what we are capable of."

The coach added, "We want to WIN (What's Important Now) in everything we do.  We had a 3.34 team GPA this semester, we have turned our program into a recognizable name with a top-ten ranking in back-to-back years and are off to an undefeated start in league play.  Both of our losses were on the road where we traveled over 3 1/2 hours without two of our top guys in the lineup.  We are only going to keep trending up and get better and, hopefully, the habits and hard work and disciplines that we have been preaching since day one will help us continue our journey."