CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- The Ellsworth Panthers were unable to duplicate an earlier win against Kirkwood CC and as a result will take the #4 seed into the Region XI postseason tournament.  Kirkwood snapped a late 68-all tie and went on to close out the Panthers, 83-76, Wednesday night at Johnson Hall.  The result left ECC in a three-way tie for 2nd place in the league standings, 2 games behind DMACC.  The Panthers are seeded behind DMACC as well as Kirkwood and Iowa Lakes, the other teams who tied for 2nd.

Kirkwood ended the 1st half on a 9-0 run to grab a 36-31 lead at the break.  The Eagles built the advantage to 15 points in the 2nd half, but a furious rally by ECC allowed them to take a brief 64-62 lead on a bucket by Clinton Efinda.  With the scored tied at 68 Kirkwood ran off the next 7 points and then nailed down the victory by going 10-for-12 at the foul line in the closing minutes.

Efinda's 18 points were the only bench points for Ellsworth and starter Bessanty Saragba was also shut out in the scoring column.  Chimobi Ikegwuruka led ECC with 22 points and he also produced 11 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Cameron Liggins added 15 points and Jordan Glenn-Hawkins 13.

The loss ended ECC's 7-game winning streak and left them at 24-6 overall and 14-4 in the ICCAC.  As the 4-seed they will battle Iowa Western, whom they swept in the regular season, in the quarterfinals on Saturday night in Creston at 7:00.  They are in the same half of the bracket as DMACC and could meet them in the semifinals on Sunday.  Kirkwood earned the 2-seed and Iowa Lakes is 3rd.