Mar 21, 2026
Photo by Iowa Central Athletics: Manny Lueth shoots for Iowa Central in an NJCAA national semifinal on Friday in Danville, Ill.
DANVILLE, Ill. — The Iowa Central men ran out of steam here on Friday in the Final Four of the NJCAA Div. II Tournament.
After besting Ellsworth twice during the regular season and once already this postseason, the Tritons were unable to solve the Panthers for a fourth straight time, falling by a final score of 85-70.
Iowa Central (28-7 overall) claimed a regional title with a win over Ellsworth at Hodges Fieldhouse, and swept the two prior meetings as well. The Panthers took advantage of having an extra day rest to run past them in the national semifinals on Friday, though.
Ellsworth (28-7) will face Parkland for the championship back here on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Tritons, meanwhile, play tourney host Danville for third place at 5 p.m.
CJ Mitchell led four Iowa Central players in double figures with 20 points, while Jordan Cain added 12. Aleix Sempere finished with 11 points, and Tashun Pender had 10 points with 11 rebounds.
For Ellsworth, Jonovan Wilkinson had 18, Eesher Singh Sarai added 16 and Alex Charlotin finished with 13. Wilkinson and Sarai were a combined 10-for-15 from the field and made all 13 of free throw attempts between the two.
“(Ellsworth) made some plays and we didn’t shoot it great,” ICCC head coach Mason Denholm said. “At the end of the day, playing a team four times — when all could have gone either way — is tough.
“Credit to Ellsworth…they made a few more plays than we did.”
The Panthers stunned ICCAC regular season champion and No. 1 overall seed DMACC here on Wednesday night in a quarterfinal, 86-69. The Tritons, meanwhile, were in a 40-minute battle with Pima on Thursday, securing a 78-77 victory to advance.
“It was a great season by Mason Denholm, as they did an unbelievable job and hat’s off to them,” Ellsworth head coach Bryan Bender said. “We just found a way and did a great job of playing together.”
After Iowa Central took an early 19-13 lead, it was all Ellsworth for the remainder of the first half. The Panthers used a 23-7 run to take a 14-point advantage at one point, and led 42-31 at the break.
Freshman Manny Lueth came up big late before the half ended, scoring seven straight for the Tritons to get the deficit back down to single digits at one point. He had nine points at the half to lead Iowa Central.
The Panthers held a double-digit lead for much of the final 15 minutes.
Iowa Central won its first game at the national tournament since 1968 when they took down Schoolcraft on Monday. This marked the first time the program had reached the semifinals in school history in the fourth-ever trip all-time to nationals (1968, 1989, 2012 and this season).
The Tritons were the highest seed to make the Final Four as the No. 5 overall in the tourney field. Danville is the seven, Ellsworth and eight and Parkland the No. 11 seed.
ELLSWORTH 85, IOWA CENTRAL 70
Iowa Central — CJ Mitchell 8-16 4-5 20, Jordan Cain 4-12 4-6 12, Aleix Sempere 5-7 1-3 11, Tashun Pender 3-7 4-4 10, Manny Lueth 4-9 0-0 9, Jalen Wynter 3-11 0-0 8, Dorian Pruitt 0-5 0-0 0, Jaxson Cathcart 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Loney 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 27-67 13-20 70.
Ellsworth — Eesher Singh Sarai 5-9 6-6 16, William Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Khounsourath 2-2 0-0 5, Jonovan Wilkinson 5-6 7-7 18, Tanner Berggren 3-10 0-0 8, Christian Johnson 4-6 2-2 12, Alex Charlotin 3-6 6-12 13, Chase Low 0-1 1-2 1, Jayden Perry 5-14 0-1 11, Dan Pembele 0-2 0-0 0, Collins Ngondu 0-0 0-0 0, McKale Mcgonigal 0-0 1-1 1. Totals: 27-57 23-31 85.
Halftime score: Ellsworth led 42-31. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 3-23, Ellsworth 8-23. Total rebounds: Iowa Central 36, Ellsworth 43. Assists: Iowa Central 8, Ellsworth 14. Steals: Iowa Central 9, Ellsworth 8. Turnovers: Iowa Central 10, Ellsworth 14. Team fouls: Iowa Central 24, Ellsworth 18. Fouled out: Lueth.
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