Kirkwood Drops Home Contest to Hawks
Cedar Rapids, IA- The #13 Kirkwood Eagles Men's Basketball team took the floor inside a packed Johnson Hall on Saturday afternoon for Kirkwood's annual Crowd the Court Game, squaring off against the Northeast Hawks in a key ICCAC contest. Despite the electric atmosphere, the Eagles were unable to slow down a hot-shooting Hawks squad, falling 85-67.
Northeast set the tone early, shooting over 53% from the field in the first half and building a 43-31 advantage at the break. The Hawks continued their efficient offensive performance in the second half, finishing the game at 54.8% from the floor while scoring 56 points in the paint.
Kirkwood battled throughout, finding production from multiple players. Manasse Kasongo led the Eagles with 14 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting while adding six rebounds. Ben Bockman contributed 11 points, knocking down three three-pointers, and Cole Marsh added 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Kayvion Hodges provided a spark off the bench with seven points and five steals, helping apply defensive pressure throughout his 20 minutes of action. Richard Lindsey Jr. dished out four assists to go along with six points, while Chris Coleman added three assists in the effort.
After trailing by 12 at halftime, the Eagles showed fight in the second half, trimming the deficit at different stretches. However, Northeast answered each push, shooting 56.3% in the final 20 minutes to maintain control and secure the road victory.
The loss drops Kirkwood to 12-6 in ICCAC play as the regular season winds down and postseason positioning comes into focus.
Next Up: The Eagles will travel to Iowa Falls on Wednesday evening to take on the Ellsworth Panthers in their penultimate ICCAC matchup before the regional tournament.
