MASON CITY, IOWA -- The 7th-ranked Ellsworth men's basketball team picked up where they left off before taking a holiday break, holding off NIACC for a 93-85 victory Wednesday night.  The Panthers, who were a perfect 5-0 in December, began the 2nd half of the schedule with a key road win, setting up a battle for 1st place in the conference with DMACC on Saturday.

Against NIACC, the Panthers held a double-digit lead for much of the 1st half and took a 46-34 lead into halftime.  NIACC battled back to tie the game at 75-all with 5:21 remaining and hit a 3-pointer for a 78-77 advantage a short time later.  But ECC regained the lead and held on for their 13th win against only 2 losses.  They are tied with No. 4 DMACC at the top of the ICCAC standings with a 5-0 record.

Chimobi Ikegwuruka had another monster game for Ellsworth with 25 points and 15 rebounds.  Clinton Efinda provided great support with 23 points and Jaron Crews also reached double figures with 11 to go along with 6 assists.  Jordan Glenn-Hawkins and Arlandus Keyes each scored 9 and Bessanty Saragba had 8.

Tip time for the ECC-DMACC showdown is 3:00 Saturday afternoon at Dittmer Gym.