Thu - 30 Jan
Written by Jim Ecker
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."
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