Old-school basketball came back to Hodges Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.

The Iowa Central men relied on defense, free throws and toughness to post a 61-59 victory over Ellsworth. 

Owen Thomas scored 12 points off the bench to spearhead the rally, with Josh Baker adding 14. Jordan Majeed chipped in 12 and Kevin Taylor 11 for the Tritons (7-7 overall, 1-2 in ICCAC).

"I had a friend reach out and kind of point me in this direction," Iowa Central head coach Chad Helle said. "He had watched our games and said we needed to take this approach. I think every coach out there would tell you that every good idea was given to them from someone else. That was what happened here.

"These guys battle, listen and do the little things. They locked in and played great defense, got stops, made free throws and protected the ball."

Down 41-29 in the second half, the Tritons went on their run. Thomas knocked down a three-pointer and was 5-for-5 from the line during a 14-0 run that turned into a 21-5 spurt capped by a Nic Black tip-in.

"Owen is exactly the kind of player who will give you everything all game long," Helle said. "He stepped up and played his best game to date. He took advantage of the situation presented to him.

"I thought Josh looked back to his form, really hitting the boards, and Nic had a huge bucket.

"We were down our best player in Javonte (Keck), Kevin (Taylor) had foul trouble and we had guys step up and lead us."

Thomas scored all 12 of his points during a second half that saw Iowa Central outscore Ellsworth 35-30. Baker had seven and Majeed six. 

Baker had a team-high nine rebounds with Taylor adding six and Black five. Jaden Clarke chipped in four boards. 

The Tritons committed just nine turnovers and were plus-15 from the free throw line.

"Old-school basketball," Helle said. "We grinded, guarded and got the win. This was a big one and I'm really proud of the guys for coming out and finishing."

Ra'Mir Scott had 11 points with both Junior Bodden and Tom Stanley adding 10 for Ellsworth, who was receiving votes in the latest poll.

Iowa Central is now off until December 30 when they head to Minnesota to face Bethany Lutheran.

-By Dana Becker