By Marissa VanWingen, The Times-Citizen

Council Bluffs, IA – With time about to expire in regulation, Ellsworth Community College's Willie Patterson III drained a jumper to knot the contest at 77 against Iowa Western Community College and send the game into overtime.

The Panthers found themselves even once again when Rav Randhawa threw up an off balanced shot that went in to give the visitors the 86-84 lead with one second left. The lead would stand and ECC upset the third seeded Reivers to advance to the semifinal round versus third-ranked Kirkwood Community College on Wednesday.

The sixth-seeded visitors jumped out to an early 14-3 lead with back-to-back long balls by Enki Diarra-Gentes and Randhawa. The Reivers (18-12) went on a 13-3 run to take their first lead of the contest (17-16). Randhawa responded with a triple to go back on top. Iowa Western would take the lead back and hit four three-pointers to go on top 46-38 after the first 10 minutes.

The Panthers (20-11) would steadily come back in the second half and cut the difference to a single possession twice before the hosts would pull away again and lead by as many as seven. With 3:41 left on the clock, Taevean Famutimi-Brown would even the score at 70-all. Diarra-Gentes would steal the ball and make the layup to give ECC their first lead since the first half. In the final minutes, the two squads would trade advantages four times. Down 77-75, Patterson III would hit a midrange jumper to send the game into overtime.

In the bonus period, the largest Panther lead would be just three. The Reivers would even the score at 84-84 on a tip-in by Muhammed Edujobi. ECC would get the inbounds pass across half-court and to Randhawa as he banked in the winning shot. 

For more Times-Citizen coverage of Ellsworth athletics: https://www.timescitizen.com/sports/ecc/