Kirkwood sophomore Joe Tagarelli was mildly disappointed when he left Saturday's game against NIACC and was told he finished the afternoon with 23 rebounds.

That's a career for some guys, but "Tags" wanted more.

"I was trying to go for the school record," he said. "So I was a little disappointed I didn't put my name in the record book. But that's all right. We got the win. It was a good team win."

Tagarelli finished with an impressive double-double with 18 points and 23 boards as the 11th-ranked Eagles bopped NIACC, 88-70, in an ICCAC Conference game at Johnson Hall.

Tagarelli, a bruising 6-foot-5 post player from Wisconsin, was told the school record for most rebounds in a single game is 25. He had 13 rebounds at halftime, but he took a seat with 1:59 left Saturday with the game well in hand and fell short of the mark

He was also a little disappointed he didn't join the 20-20 club with 20 points and 20 rebounds, but he missed a few too many inside chances and fell two points shy.

Don't get the wrong idea about Tagarelli, though. He's not playing the game for individual stats or glory, but it's only natural to think about those things when the numbers get so high in a victory.

"I was going for it," he confessed. "I had it in my head somewhere. I'm just glad we got the win, to be honest."

Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen calls Tagarelli a "workhorse" for his relentless nature on the court.

"He works really hard, but then he's smart about it too," said Petersen. "Angles, reading the ball off the rim, the timing. Part of it is natural. It's hard to teach that stuff. And he's got it. He keeps coming."

Tagarelli tries to keep it simple: See ball, Get ball. He's the youngest of three brothers and learned to scrap for his share of the goodies.

"That's kind of how I play. You have to go out and take it," he said. "One of my high school coaches told me, 'Go grab the ball.' It's as simple as that. Go grab it."

Tagarelli's brother Jon has medical issues and Joe likes to play the game for him. "It makes me work harder," he said.

His father, Dennis, was at the game Saturday, in town to help Tagarelli celebrate his birthday this past week.

Kirkwood pounded NIACC on the backboards, 46-24, with Tagarelli accounting for half of Kirkwood's amount. "The rebounding was great," said Petersen. "Tagarelli was unbelievable."

NIACC Coach Mark Mohl agreed with that assessment. He got Tagarelli's attention late in the game and paid his compliments.

"He basically said, 'Congratulations on the rebounds today. You kept killing us,'" Tagarelli related. "I think he just respected me on how hard I work."

The Eagles hit twelve 3-pointers and had six guys score in double figures. Tagarelli led the parade with 18 points. Jordan Ashton scored 15. Ron Singleton, Matt Lassen and Hunter Rhodes had 12 apiece. Ajay Lawton scored 10 points off the bench. Lassen made four 3-pointers and Ashton hit three.

Jacob Olson had two straight steals and layups to help the Eagles take a 65-48 lead with 10 minutes left.

Kirkwood raised its records to 18-5 overall and 5-2 in the ICCAC, one game behind DMACC in the league standings. NIACC fell to 13-11 and 3-4. Al Davis scored 16 points for the Trojans.

NIACC (70): Davis 6 2-5 16, Van Vliet 1 0-0 3, Williams 4 4-8 13, Lowe 2 0-0 6, Lang 3 1-2 10, Minla 0 0-0 0, Lyte 3 0-0 6, Udume 2 1-2 6 Fischer 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 2 1-2 5, Tellin 0 3-4 3. Totals 24 12-23 70.

KIRKWOOD (88): Singleton 5 2-4 12, Lassen 4 0-0 12, Rhodes 2 6-6 12, Ashton 6 0-0 15, Tagarelli 6 6-6 18, Lawton 3 2-2 10, Richards 0 0-0 0, Weeks 0 0-1 0, Olson 3 0-1 6, Martin 1 0-0 3, Ukah 0 0-0 0. Totals 30 16-20 88.

Halftime - Kirkwood 36, NIACC 31. 3-point goals - NIACC 10 (Lang 3, Davis 2, Lowe 2, Van Vliet 1, Williams 1, Udume 1), Kirkwood 12 (Lassen 4, Ashton 3, Rhodes 2, Lawton 2, Martin 1).