Kirkwood Community College - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

KCC women top Columbus Central

OMAHA, Neb. - Kirsten Larson popped in five 3-pointers and scored 17 points Friday night as Kirkwood trimmed Central-Columbus, 80-75, in Omaha.

Tyra Polite hit four triples and scored 16 points for the Eagles (4-3). Anna Martesen contributed 12 points.

Ariel Sneed finished with eight points and eight rebounds. Polite collected seven assists. Aliyah Isaac and Taylor Silva had five assists.

Adrianna Beck made six 3-pointers and scored 24 points for Central-Columbus (5-3).

KIRKWOOD (80): Sneed 3 2-2 8, Miles 0 0-0 0, Downs 0 0-0 0, Isaac 0 2-2 2, Silva 1 0-0 3, Oberman 1 0-0 3, Sudduth 0 0-0 0, Polite 5 2-4 16, Larson 7 3-4 17, Hutchins 0 0-2 0, Martensen 4 4-8 12, Bockholt 2 0-0 5, Clark 3 0-0 6, Wood 1 1-2 3. Totals 27 14-24 80.

CENTRAL-COLUMBUS (75): Beck 9 0-0 24, Brewer 2 2-5 6, Bryant 0 0-0 0, Muhammad 4 0-0 10, Rossmeier 2 6-6 10, Washington-Carson 6 0-2 12, Weller 4 2-2 13. Totals 27 10-15 75.

Halftime - Central-Columbus 38, Kirkwood 37. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 12 (Larson 5, Polite 4, Silva 1, Oberman 1, Bockholt 1), Central-Columbus 11 (Beck 6, Weller 3, Muhammad 2).

Ashton finds new home at Kirkwood

Jordan Ashton hasn't had this much fun playing basketball since he led Mount Pleasant High School to the Class 3A state title in 2012 and was named captain of the all-tournament team.

Ashton spent two years at Northwest Missouri State, an NCAA Division II school in Maryville, Mo., before transferring to Kirkwood Community College, where he's fit in comfortably this season and is leading the Eagles in scoring at 16.6 per game.

Ashton tossed in a game-high 18 points Wednesday night as the Eagles cruised past the Loras junior varsity team, 117-55, at Johnson Hall for their seventh straight victory to begin the season.

Ashton, a 6-foot-4 guard, was redshirted at Northwest Missouri State as a true freshman in 2012-13 and played sparingly last year, scoring 37 points in 15 games. He had an episode with an irregular heartbeat last season and the coaching staff wanted want him to take a medical redshirt this year, even though he was pronounced healthy and cleared to play.

Ashton decided to cast his lost somewhere else. Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen heard the news and acted quickly.

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No.5 Illinois Central tops No.3 KCC

PEORIA, Ill. April Gebke and Destiny Ramsey scored 19 points apiece Saturday as No. 5 Illinois Central trimmed No. 3 Kirkwood, 74-68, in a junior college women's basketball game in Peoria, Ill.

Ariel Sneed led Kirkwood (3-3) with 16 points and seven rebounds. Cassidy Clark collected 13 points and seven rebounds. Tyra Polite had seven assists.

Kirkwood and Illinois Central have both won six national titles and have two of the top NJCAA Division II programs in the country.

KIRKWOOD (68): Sneed 7 1-2 16, Isaac 2 0-0 4, Silva 3 0-0 6, Sudduth 3 1-3 8, Polite 2 2-2 7, Larson 3 0-0 8, Martensen 2 0-0 4, Bockholt 1 0-0 2, Clark 4 4-4 13. Totals 27 8-11 68.

ILLINOIS CENTRAL (74): Carpenter 1 2-3 4, Gebke 7 2-3 19, Jones 1 10-12 12, Kumer 2 0-0 5, Ramsey 6 7-8 19, Robinson 4 0-0 11, Stubblefield 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 21-26 74.

Halftime - Illinois Central 31, Coe 26. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 6 (Larson 2, Sneed 1, Sudduth 1, Polite 1, Clark 1), Illinois Central 7 (Gebke 3, Robinson 3, Kumer 1).

Lassen, Tagarelli lift Kirkwood

By his own admission, Matt Lassen was having a subpar game.

The Kirkwood sharpshooter spent a good portion of Saturday's men's  basketball game with Southeastern at Johnson Hall on the bench with foul trouble.

Scoreless through the game's first 36 minutes, Lassen converted a pair of clutch 3-point baskets, the second one with 1:51 remaining with the Eagles clinging to a one-point lead.

Lassen's second trey gave Kirkwood the cushion it needed. Hunter Rhodes' six free throws in the final minute sealed a hard-fought 72-63 victory in a battle of unbeatens.

"I had a tough time getting going," Lassen said. "It was just one of those games. I was in foul trouble. I wasn't guarding very well, but I always have confidence in my shot.

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No.3 Eagles fall to No.10 Parkland

PEORIA, Ill. - The third-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team lost to No. 10 Parkland, 62-59, Friday night in the opening round of the Illinois

Centrasl tournament.

Kirsten Larson hit four 3-pointers and led the Eagles (3-2) with 14 points. Cassidy Clark scored 11 points for Kirkwood. Kassidy Alderman led Parkland with 19 points.

KIRKWOOD (59): Sneed 1 0-0 2, Miles 2 0-0 5, Isaac 0 5-7 5, Silva 2 3-4 8, Sudduth 0 1-2 1, Polite 2 0-0 4, Larson 4 2-2 14, Hutchins 1 0-0 2, Martensen 2 1-2 5, Kallenberger 1 0-0 2, Clark 4 1-2 11. Totals 19 13-19 59.

PARKLAND (62): Hartman 1 0-0 2, Alderman 7 0-1 19, Moses 1 0-0 2, Wascher 7 0-4 14, Vaughn 1 2-2 4, Litchfield 1 7-8 9, Zerrusen 2 1-2 5, Cross 1 2-4 4, Mitton 0 3-4 3. Totals 21 15-25 62.

Halftime - Parkland 30, Kirkwood 23. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 8 (Larson 4, Clark 2, Miles 1, Silva 1), Parkland 4 (Alderman 4).

No. 3 Eagles fall to No. 10 Parkland

PEORIA, Ill. - The third-ranked Kirkwood women's basketball team lost to No. 10 Parkland, 62-59, Friday night in the opening round of the Illinois Central tournament.

Kirsten Larson hit four 3-pointers and led the Eagles (3-2) with 14 points. Cassidy Clark scored 11 points for Kirkwood.

Kassidy Alderman led Parkland with 19 points.

KIRKWOOD (59): Sneed 1 0-0 2, Miles 2 0-0 5, Isaac 0 5-7 5, Silva 2 3-4 8, Sudduth 0 1-2 1, Polite 2 0-0 4, Larson 4 2-2 14, Hutchins 1 0-0 2, Martensen 2 1-2 5, Kallenberger 1 0-0 2, Clark 4 1-2 11. Totals 19 13-19 59.

PARKLAND (62): Hartman 1 0-0 2, Alderman 7 0-1 19, Moses 1 0-0 2, Wascher 7 0-4 14, Vaughn 1 2-2 4, Litchfield 1 7-8 9, Zerrusen 2 1-2 5, Cross 1 2-4 4, Mitton 0 3-4 3. Totals 21 15-25 62.

Halftime - Parkland 30, Kirkwood 23. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 8 (Larson 4, Clark 2, Miles 1, Silva 1), Parkland 4 (Alderman 4).

KCC's Sneed signs with Southern Miss

Ariel Sneed of Kirkwood Community College has signed a national letter-of-intent to play basketball at Southern Mississippi University next season.

Sneed, a 6-foot sophomore from Harvey, Ill., was named a third team NJCAA Division II All-American last season after averaging 10 points and six rebounds for Kirkwood.

"I chose Southern Miss because as soon as I touched ground on its campus, I felt a sense of belonging," she said in a story posted on the Southern Mississippi website. "I received nothing but positive vibes while there the entire time, and it was just a feeling that was right.

"Spending time with the coaching staff and players just reassured me that this was where I was meant to be! I couldn't be happier with my decision."

Balanced Eagles roll to 5-0 start

The Kirkwood Eagles need to learn how to play good basketball with a 30-point lead.

That may sound strange, but Coach Bryan Petersen does not want his club to develop any bad habits when things are going so well.

Kirkwood zoomed to a 31-point lead at halftime Tuesday night and coasted to a 90-58 victory over Black Hawk Community College in a non-conference game at Johnson Hall.

Kareem Martin Jr. led five players into double figures with 15 points as the Eagles raised their record to 5-0. Matt Lassen helped Kirkwood get off to a fast start and finished with 14 points.

Jordan Ashton and Joe Tagarelli scored 13 points apiece and Chike Ukah had 10. Ajay Lawton and Hunter Rhodes both finished with eight points and nine assists, nearly reaching a double-double.

"Good win. Home opener. It was fun," said Petersen. "Nice crowd. I was very pleased with that. A good student section. It was nice to see some people out there watching us."

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Ashton fuels Kirkwood with 34

MARSHALLTOWN - Jordan Ashton made six 3-pointers and poured in 34 points Saturday as Kirkwood topped Marshalltown, 90-85, in a junior college basketball game in Marshalltown.

Ajay Lawton hit three triples and scored 13 points for the Eagles (4-0). Kareem Martin Jr. had 12 points and nine rebounds. Matt Lassen added 11 points. Ron Singleton had seven points and seven rebounds.

Kirkwood shot 11 for 24 on 3-pointers.

KIRKWOOD (90): Singleton 3 1-2 7, Lawton 5 0-0 13, Lassen 4 2-4 11, Rhodes 0 0-0 0, Olson 1 3-4 5, Ashton 11 6-7 34, Martin 3 5-6 12, Ukah 2 0-0 4, Tagarelli 2 0-0 4. Totals 31 17-23 90.

MARSHALLTOWN (85): Rodriguez 5 10-14 20, Green 4 4-5 12, Sakinis 5 0-0 10, Shelby 5 2-2 14, Malalu 1 3-4 5, Verardo 4 2-2 13, Lasley 2 0-0 4, Maddred 3 1-3 7. Totals 29 22-30 85.

Halftime - Kirkwood 37, Marshalltown 37. 3-point goals - Kirkwood 11 (Ashton 6, Lawton 3, Lassen 1, Martin 1), Marshalltown 5 (Verardo 3, Shelby 2).