Metro Sports Report

No. 11 Eagles hold off No. 13 Spartans

Chris King needed a heating pad for his sore back at halftime and was suffering from leg cramps after the game, but he felt good when he left Johnson Hall Saturday afternoon.

King poured in 27 points and collected six assists as the 11th-ranked Kirkwood Eagles topped 13th-ranked Southwestern Community College, 89-84, in a ferocious junior college basketball game.

King, a 6-foot guard from Des Moines, shrugged off the ailments after playing 37 of 40 minutes in a key ICCAC affair.

"I'm just trying to fight through it," he said. "You've always got injuries and little bruises through the season, so it's nothing really.

"You just have to go out there and give it your all for your team."

Kirkwood raised its ICCAC record to 4-0 and took a two-game lead in the loss column in the conference standings ahead of Southwestern (3-2), Iowa Lakes (3-2) and Iowa Central (2-2).

Mullinnix sparks No. 2 Kirkwood women

Haley Mullinnix can chew gum and play basketball at the same time.

She did both very well for the Kirkwood Eagles Saturday afternoon on her 19th birthday.

Mullinnix moved up in the rotation and scored a career-best 15 points as the second-ranked Eagles spanked Southwestern, 82-44, in an ICCAC conference game at Johnson Hall.

Tay Wilson, Kirkwood's top point guard, missed Saturday's contest due to a two-game suspension for violating team rules. That meant Niaja Taylor moved into the starting lineup and Mullinnix became the backup point guard for the first time this season.

She delivered.

Mullinnix, a 5-foot-5 freshman from West Branch, made all six of her shots from the field, including three straight 3-pointers in the first half to steer Kirkwood in the right direction after a slow start.

She also collected two assists, one rebound and one steal during 16 minutes on the floor.

Marble sparks No. 11 Eagles to easy win

When your last name is Marble and you play basketball in the state of Iowa, people expect you to be really good.

That's perfectly OK with Carlo Marble, whose father and older brother both starred for the Iowa Hawkeyes during their college careers.

"I think it's a challenge," he said Wednesday night, "and I like challenges."

Marble scored 19 points and played a strong all-around game as the 11th-ranked Kirkwood Eagles rolled by Little Priest Tribal College, 89-58, in a non-conference affair at Johnson Hall.

Roy Marble, Carlo's father, scored 2,116 points for the Hawkeyes from 1985 through 1989 and is the leading scorer in school history. He was an exciting player to watch and a first-round NBA draft pick in 1989.

Sadly, Roy Marble died from cancer in 2015 when he was 48.

Roy "Devyn" Marble, Carlo's older brother, scored 1,675 points during his University of Iowa career and was a second-round NBA draft pick in 2014. He's now recovering from a knee injury after playing pro ball in Greece and Italy.

Carlo Marble, by contrast, is toiling in relative obscurity for the Kirkwood Eagles, coming off the bench for the most part and averaging 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

No. 2 KCC women win 8th straight

WEST BURLINGTON - Mackenzie Jenkins led a balanced attack with 14 points Wednesday night as the second-ranked Kirkwood Eagles dumped Southeastern Community college, 73-52, in an ICCAC game in West Burlington.

Olivia Usher collected 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Kirkwood. Arika Wooldridge finished with 11 points and six rebounds. Awal Ajak had 10 points.

Kirkwood won for the eighth straight time, raising its records to 18-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The Eagles are tied for first place in the league with DMACC.