Bryan Petersen admitted he had some concerns as February started.

His Kirkwood men's basketball team had given up 95 points in a Feb. 6 loss to Iowa Lakes, on the heels of a January loss at Southwestern where the hosts scored 85.

What a difference a few weeks, and some attention to detail, can make.

Since the loss to Iowa Lakes, the No. 6 Eagles have won six straight, holding four of their six opponents under 60 points.

The lastest victim of Kirkwood's renewed defense was NIACC. The Trojans shot just 31 percent from the field Saturday at Johnson Hall and went back to Mason City with a 74-57 defeat.

The victory gave the Eagles (25-4, 10-2) a share of the ICCAC regular-season title with both Southwestern and Iowa Lakes. Kirkwood gained the No. 1 seed for the upcoming regional tournament by having the best strength of schedule. Southwestern will be the No. 2 seed, followed by Iowa Lakes.

Kirkwood drew a bye in the opening round of the regional tournament and will host a semifinal game Thursday night against an opponent to be determined.

"Our defense has been really good the last three weeks," Petersen said.
"Since we got owned at home by Iowa Lakes, our guys have really bought in defensively and it starts with our sophomores, the kids we honored today."

Sophomores Josh Bartlett, Hunter Rhodes, Nick Richards, Jacob Olson, Josh Meier and Cristen Wilson were honored before the game. They all started out slow on offense, but were all over the Trojans on the defensive end.

"We already know we have a great offense," said Richards, who led the way 16 points. "We've made major improvements on defense after taking a couple of steps back. The better our defense is, the better we are as a team because we know our offense will come."

The offense, led by Richards, came alive late in the first half as the Eagles grabbed a 42-25 lead at the break.

"We were able to grow a small lead because we were able to get stops," Petersen said. "That's a credit to the sophomores because they set the tone today from the beginning."

Kirkwood built the lead up to as many as 23 points in the second half.
As usual, the bench played a pivotal role for the Eagles, providing 31 points and 24 rebounds.

"I've felt good about this team all season," Petersen said. "They are a great group to work with and they play so well together as a group. I'm looking forward to the postseason."

Richards said the sophomores remember the disappointment of getting ousted in the regional tournament last year.

"It's exciting," Richards said of being the No. 1 seed. "Last year, we came up short and now, we're just happy to be conference champs."

Angus Fischer led NIACC (2-10, 15-14) with 17 points.

NIACC (57): Mitchell 1 0-0 3, Van Vilet 4 1-4 11, Mascall-Wright 2 0-0 5, Wanjara 1 0-0 2, Fischer 3 11-12 17, McCain 1 0-0 2, Baker 3 0-0 7, Eichenberger 0 0-0 0, Ivens 1 0-0 2, C. Jackson 0 0-0 0, Shabazz 0 0-0 0, McKenzie 3 0-1 7, Lester 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 12-17 57.

KIRKWOOD (74): Bartlett 1 0-0 3, Rhodes 2 4-5 10, Richards 5 4-4 16, Olson 1 4-4 6, King 4 0-0 8, A. Jackson 1 0-0 3, Harp 0 0-0 0, Fagan 2 3-4 7, Meier 2 2-3 6, Wilson 3 1-1 7, Henry 0 0-0 0, Triplett 4 0-0 8. Totals: 25 18-21 74.

Halftime: Kirkwood 42, NIACC 25. 3-point goals: NIACC 7 (Mitchell 1, Van Vilet 2, Mascall-Wright 1, Baker 1, McKenzie 2). Kirkwood 6 (Bartlett 1, Rhodes 2, Richards 2, A. Jackson 1). Total fouls: NIACC 18, Kirkwood 19.

Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none.