By Marissa VanWingen, The Times Citizen

Ellsworth Community College has faced three rated squads and another they have always struggled to beat. The last two games have been versus teams rated higher than them, at No. 9.
The Panthers (15-5, 5-4) traveled to sixth-ranked DMACC (18-2, 8-1) and lost their third contest in a row – 94-81.

ECC was down by 11 (49-38) after the first 20 minutes of play. While the second half was much better, ECC could not slow down the Bear sharpshooters. DMACC only outscored the visitors by two (45-43) but it was enough to get the double-digit victory.

To try and get back into the game, the Panthers shot 30 triples but were 26.7 percent from downtown. They were 45 percent from the floor. Willie Patterson III led all scoring with 25 points, and Taevean Famutimi-Brown was also in double figures for ECC with 14.

The Bears on the other hand didn't need to make triples – they had just four. They were 56.5 percent from the floor and made just nine turnovers. Of the nine players that were on the floor for DMACC, all of them scored and four were in double figures. Guard Da'Shon Fisher tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts.

The loss sends ECC into a three-way tie with Iowa Western and Iowa Central for fourth place in the ICCAC.

For more on ECC Athletics, click here: https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.timescitizen.com%2fsports%2fecc%2f&c=E,1,Fes8UPcSlH4YXZt_I3chnt-pF0tUB38TvFneHlfCIxYE3-KMNcpGZgKKE93TpPXrlPdzr9nVe9pLtlxYPaSwnEIge9h3NRkyq8eFQSqREL8nABGtyiI,&typo=1

ICCAC Basketball
Saturday at Boone

ECC: 38| 43 – 81
DMACC: 49| 45 – 94

ECC Scoring: Willie Patterson III 9 4-5 25; Taevean Famutimi-Brown 6 1-4 14; Sam Hensley 1 4-4 7; Rav Randhawa 1 4-5 6; Rollings Kamanda 3 0-3 6; Enki Diarra-Gentes 2 1-2 6; Tanner Berggren 2 1-2 6; Eesher Singh Sarai 2 0-0 4; Jack Scrivner 1 0-0 3; Hubert Bayigamba 0 2-2 2; Jonovan Wilkinson 1 0-0 2.