The Iowa Central men's basketball team nearly pulled off an upset in their first game of the new year, falling to 13th-ranked Kirkwood Wednesday night inside Hodges Fieldhouse, 79-68.

The Tritons took the lead several times and had the Eagles within a point, but were unable to seal the deal.

Marquis Henry led the way with 16 points, while Zack Foulks scored 15 in his first action of the season. Andrew Gibb added 12 and Jeremiah Hurst 10.

Iowa Central returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Creston to face Southwestern. Tip is set for 3 p.m.

KIRKWOOD 79, IOWA CENTRAL 68

Iowa Central — Ayris Abdelnassar 1-9 2-2 4, Jeremiah Hurst 3-8 4-6 10, Andrew Gibb 4-5 4-5 12, Javonte Keck 2-5 0-1 4, Marquis Henry 5-13 3-4 16, Zack Foulks 5-10 1-2 15, Arthur Weston 0-2 0-0 0, Jeremy Kambomba 2-3 0-0 4, Cham Deng 1-1 0-0 3. Totals: 23-56 14-20 68.

Kirkwood — Seybian Sims 1-5 1-2 3, Chris Burnell 4-7 0-2 9, Devonte Thedford 9-18 0-0 19, Luke Appel 9-17 1-4 20, Griffen Clark 1-2 0-0 3, Gacoby Jones 2-4 2-3 7, Jamal Stephenson 4-8 7-7 16, Owen Coburn 1-2 0-0 2, Niko Gosnell 0-2 0-2 0. Totals: 31-65 11-20 79.

Halftime score: Kirkwood led 37-34. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 8-24 (Henry 3, Foulks 4, Deng), Kirkwood 6-20 (Burnell, Thedford, Appel, Clark, Jones, Stephenson). Total rebounds: Iowa Central 38, Kirkwood 39. Assists: Iowa Central 9, Kirkwood 8. Blocked shots: Iowa Central 3, Kirkwood 3. Steals: Iowa Central 6, Kirkwood 5. Turnovers: Iowa Central 18, Kirkwood 14.