Myzeah Batie-Gaddy looks like a new man since he enrolled at Kirkwood Community College this summer.

Batie-Gaddy chopped off the stylish dreadlocks he wore during his championship days at Iowa City West High School and is sporting a closely cropped look these days.

"I was just tired of it," he said Tuesday night. "My mom used to do it for me, but I moved away from home of course. It was a last-minute decision. I actually cut it right before I moved up here. The morning I moved out, I cut it."

One thing hasn't changed about the 6-foot-5, 230-pound power forward, however. He's still an extremely strong player with a soft touch around the rim.

Batie-Gaddy scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and shot 5-for-5 from the floor as Kirkwood polished off the Grand View junior varsity, 92-64, with a strong second half at Johnson Hall.

Batie-Gaddy said he'd worn the dreadlocks for six years.

"It was a lot of hair," he said. "I feel so weird at times, being used to having all that hair on my head. But I'm adjusting."

Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen was surprised when Batie-Gaddy showed up in August with his new look. "I had to do a double-take when I saw him," he said.

Batie-Gaddy is not starting for the Eagles (4-1), but he's one of the first guys off the bench and played 22 minutes Tuesday, tied for second-most on the team.

"He's been pretty good," Petersen said. "When we got him we knew he was going to be a tough player, a good rebounder. He's a little more skilled than what we may have thought.

"For a freshman, I've been pretty impressed with his first 2 1/2 weeks of the season, with what he's been able to do consistently for us."

Kirkwood played a sloppy first half and led by only one point, 35-34, at intermission. Petersen was not happy with his club in the opening stanza and ripped into them during a timeout.

"Are you awake yet!" he asked them forcefully.

The Eagles began the game with four straight turnovers, let balls slip through their hands and had mental lapses on defense. "Just our mentality," said Petersen, explaining his displeasure.

He harped on that theme at halftime.

"The Coach got on us a little bit at halftime in the locker room," said Batie-Gaddy, who helped Iowa City West win two consecutive state titles. "He wanted us to come out with a lot more energy and I think we did a good job of that."

Kirkwood belted Grand View, 50-20, in the first 15 minutes of the second half and raced to an 85-54 advantage. The Eagles shot 72.4 percent (21 of 29) in the second half.

"The second half was better," Petersen said. "Some guys responded. The guys played harder."

J.C. Fuller led Kirkwood with 21 points. Taylor Olson scored 15. Chris Ward notched nine points. Matt Lassen hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points.

GRAND VIEW JV (64): Bostic 2 1-2 6, Schweiner 1 3-5 5, Montgomery 2 1-2 5, Larson 2 0-0 6, Santos 5 2-4 13, Kirkland-Cuffee 2 0-0 4, Tognini 1 1-2 3, Hill 3 3-5 9, Wiley 0 0-0 0, Thedford 0 0-2 0, Sagan 2 0-0 4, Brosamle 1 3-5 5, Bonewitz 1 2-4 4, Denholm 0 0-0 0, Springer 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 16-33 64.

KIRKWOOD (92): Fuller 7 5-6 21, Currie 3 0-2 6, Olson 4 6-6 15, Bussell 0 1-2 1, Tagarelli 2 1-2 5, Lawton 3 0-0 6, Gibson 0 0-0 0, Lassen 3 0-0 8, Swank 2 0-0 5, Weeks 0 0-0 0, Batie-Gaddy 5 6-8 16, Ward 4 1-2 9, Bennett 0 0-0 0, Uwadiae 0 0-0 0. Totals 33 20-28 92.

Halftime - Kirkwood 35, Grand View JV 34. 3-point goals - Grand View JV 4 (Larson 2, Bostic 1, Santos 1), Kirkwood 6 (Fuller 2, Lassen 2, Olson 1, Swank 1). Fouled out - Santos.