Kirkwood Mens Basketball

KCC's Appel commits to South Dakota State

Luke Appel has joined the pipeline from Kirkwood to South Dakota State.

Appel, a 6-foot-8 forward, plans to continue his basketball career at  South Dakota State after averaging 15.9 points and 8.4 rebounds as a  sophomore at Kirkwood this year. He was named the co-player of the  year in the ICCAC this season.

Appel will be joining former Kirkwood coach Bryan Petersen and former  Kirkwood All-American Doug Wilson when he arrives at South Dakota State.

Petersen joined the Jackrabbits as an assistant coach this past season  after leading Kirkwood to the NJCAA Division II national title in  2019. Wilson joined the Jackrabbits this season as well after being  named the NJCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2019.

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No. 12 NIACC ousts No. 9 Eagles at buzzer

Luke Appel and Niko Gosnell, a pair of big men with big goals this  season, sat on a bench in the hallway outside the Kirkwood locker room  Thursday night and cried after an excruciating loss ended their season.

Gosnell put his hand on Appel's shoulder, trying to console his buddy,  and they finally got up and disappeared inside, no doubt to shed a few  more tears.

Kirkwood's goal of winning back-to-back national titles ended in the  regional semifinals at Johnson Hall, but not for lack of effort or  emotion.

Deundra Roberson hit a shot near the basket as time expired to snap a  74-74 tie and give 12th-ranked NIACC a devastating 76-74 victory over  No. 9 Kirkwood in a tense battle  marred by 45 fouls in 40 minutes of  basketball.

NIACC (25-6) will face fifth-ranked DMACC (28-4) in the regional  finals Saturday for a spot in the NJCAA Division II national  tournament. That's where Kirkwood desperately wanted to be, but the  Eagles had to settle for a 24-6 final mark.

The tears flowed in abundance.

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No. 9 Eagles cruise in regional opener

Devonte Thedford scored 24 points Tuesday night as the ninth-ranked  Kirkwood Eagles defeated Little Priest Tribal College, 96-57, in the  quarterfinals of the NJCAA Division II regional at Johnson Hall.

Kirkwood (24-5) will host No. 12 NIACC (24-6) in the semifinals  Thursday at 7 p.m.

Thedford shot 6-for-8 from the field and was 11-for-12 at the foul  line for the Eagles. DJ Purnell collected a double-double with 14  points and 11 rebounds. Niko Gosnell added 11 points for the winners.

Kirkwood shot a sizzling 92.3 percent at the foul line, making 36 of 39.

Reynald Laurent scored 20 points for Little Priest Tribal College (6-20).

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KCC men earn No. 1 seed for regional

The Kirkwood Eagles know exactly what it takes to win the national  title. Now the journey begins for two NJCAA crowns in a row.

The 11th-ranked Eagles whipped Iowa Central, 87-64, Saturday to finish  as co-champs of the ICCAC conference and claim the No. 1 seed for the  regional tournament.

Kirkwood (23-5) will host Little Priest Tribal College (6-19) in the  opening round of the regional Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The regional is packed with three other ranked teams with No. 5 DMACC,  No. 12 Iowa Lakes and No. 14 NIACC, so the road to nationals will not  be easy. The Eagles will probably have to defeat two ranked teams to  make it.

"I'm just excited. Really, really excited," said Seybian Sims, who  helped the Eagles win the 2019 national title. "I think we all feel  really good."

Sims enjoyed a big game Saturday. He shot 7-for-8 from the field,  drained all three of his 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and dished  out four assists.

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