Metro Sports Report

Grand View tops Mount Mercy women

DES MOINES - The miseries continued for the Mount Mercy women's  basketball team Thursday night.

The Mustangs lost to Grand View, 67-52, in a Heart of America  Conference game in Des Moines.

Mount Mercy fell to 4-16 overall and 1-14 in the conference. The  Mustangs have a 2-37 record in the Heart of America the past two  seasons, including a 1-23 mark last year.

Sandra Mia led the Mustangs with 16 points.

Mackenzie Roberts poured in 26 points off the bench for Grand View  (15-7, 11-5).

Appel shines as Kirkwood nips NIACC

Luke Appel knew he needed to get stronger and develop better moves around the basket to become a major force for the Kirkwood Eagles this season.

Mission accomplished.

Appel stuffed the stat sheet Wednesday night with 27 points, 17 rebounds and six assists as the 14th-ranked Eagles held off 12th-ranked NIACC, 89-88, in an ICCAC conference thriller at Johnson Hall.

The victory lifted Kirkwood into a three-way for first place in the conference with DMACC and Iowa Lakes with 6-1 records.

Appel, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Marshalltown, averaged 9.7 points and 6.5 rebounds last season when Kirkwood won the NJCAA Division II national title. Now he's producing 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds and getting the ball at crunch time.

When the Eagles needed a big bucket Wednesday night, they looked for Appel in the low post, just like they did last year when Doug Wilson was the star of the show.

"I've kind of grown into the role," Appel said. "Doug was my mentor last year and I kind of just learned from him.

"He's an All-American and he's averaging 20 at a Division I school (South Dakota State), so I learned from him every day. And I tried to get as strong as I could this summer and try to become the best I could be.

"I really didn't lift in high school, but I've learned to love it. I was in there all summer."

No. 1 Eagles fall to No. 4 NIACC

The look on Kim Muhl's face told the story.

He never said it directly, but the veteran Kirkwood women's basketball coach gave off the vibe that his team let one slip away Wednesday night.

In a battle of two nationally-ranked teams, No. 4 North Iowa Area Community College got a late fourth-quarter run and held off numerous challenges in the final two minutes to upset the top-ranked Eagles, 63-60, in an ICCAC game before an enthusiastic crowd at Johnson Hall.

"I thought we didn't do a very good job doing some things," Muhl said. "You gotta make free throws, 15-for-29 is pretty poor. That's on them. They have to make their shots."

Free throws weren't the only area of struggle for the Eagles (20-2, 7-1). They only connected on one 3-point basket in 15 attempts, compared to 9-for-32 for the visitors. NIACC (21-1, 9-0) elected to put heavy pressure on the Kirkwood guards, allowing the Eagle posts to work against single coverage.

"We didn't guard well in transition a couple of times," Muhl said. "We lost them and they hit a couple of 3's. That was our fault. They are too good to let them have open shots like that."

Despite their offensive struggles, the Eagles had their chances. NIACC's biggest lead of the night was a pair of six-point margins early in both halves. The Eagles never led by more than two points the entire night.

Mount Mercy trimmed by Clarke, 94-90

A frustrating season for the Mount Mercy men's basketball team  continued Monday night at the Hennessey Recreation Center.

The Mustangs lost to Clarke, 94-90, in a Heart of America Conference  game to drop another tight affair.

The setback left Mount Mercy at 9-11 overall and 4-10 in the  conference. Clarke raised its records to 15-6 overall and 11-4 in the  league.

RoyShawn Webb hit five 3-pointers and finished with 26 points, six  assists and six rebounds for Mount Mercy. Street McIlravy also made  five 3-pointers and scored 23 points. Bailey Basala added 17 points  and Dennis McKinney had 16.

Keith Johnson popped in 27 points for Clarke and Darius Lasley notched 23.