By: Dana Becker
Mesenger Sports Staff
The pieces of the puzzle are there — it's just finding the right order to put them in for the Iowa Central men's basketball team.
The Tritons (1-0 overall) blitzed Mount Mercy JV (0-1) in the second half to earn a 91-64 victory on Thursday.
Iowa Central and the Mustangs fought back and forth in the first 10 minutes in the season opener, as the Tritons tried to find a rhythm to their offense and come up with some defensive stops.
"We played a little lackadaisical on defense," said ICCC head coach Chad Helle. "We knew they would use the back door cut.
"We told Daviyon (Gaston) and Randy (Latham) to keep everything in front of them and they did that."
With the score tied 25, the Tritons went on an 8-0 run to build a cushion and never look back, taking a 43-32 lead into the locker room.
Miles Fant and Latham paced Iowa Central in the first half with 11 points each.
The tale of the game was the start of the second half, as the Iowa Central defense turned it up a notch and went on a 15-0 run to build a commanding 58-32 advantage. The Tritons forced the Mustangs into five turnovers during that frame, and Mount Mercy didn't score for the first five minutes of the half.
A 13-2 run gave Iowa Central a 71-42 edge — their largest lead of the evening.
"To start the second half, we made the effort to work and protect the paint," Helle said. "It was open and we started to drive.
"It helped that we were able to knock down some shots on the perimeter as well."
Fant finished the contest with a game-high 22 points. He was 10-for-12 from the floor and perfect on all five shots in the second half.
Tyrhell Branch also reached double digits with 16 points on 6 of 9 attempts. He was 4-for-6 from three-point land and connected on three straight during one stretch.
Latham contributed 15 points. Chase Low came off the bench to add eight and was perfect on all four attempts. Jordan Fenderson had nine off the bench.
Freshman Riley Edwards, the son of former Fort Dodge Senior High basketball coach Brad Edwards and FDSH teacher Janice Edwards, had four points in his Triton debut. Edwards is a former Southeast Polk standout.
"We are still searching for that lineup that will give us the best production," Helle said. "We may not find it until January, but I feel we have the guys to do it.
"It's sometimes hard in practice to identify the five as you try to keep the teams balanced, but with that, I feel we have built some depth."
The Tritons are back in action on Thursday when they host the Grand View JV.
IOWA CENTRAL 91, MOUNT MERCY JV 64
Iowa Central — Tyrhell Branch 6-9 0-0 16, Chase Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Miles Fant 10-12 1-3 22, Randy Latham 6-10 3-4 15, Daviyon Gaston 2-6 2-4 7, Chase Low 4-4 0-0 8, Riley Edwards 2-5 0-0 4, Deuce Blake 3-7 0-0 7, Jordan Fenderson 4-7 0-0 9, Terrius Walker 0-0 0-0 0, ID Coleman 0-0 0-0 0, Mekhi Wilson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 39-66 6-11 91.
Mount Mercy JV — Elijah Ward 7-15 1-3 18, Jaxson Fried 4-9 8-8 18, Miles Dear 2-7 2-2 6, Caden Schroeder 1-10 0-0 2, Hannes Bergmann 4-5 0-1 9, David Onyeogaziri 0-2 0-0 0, Javi Arocho 1-4 2-2 4, Logan Nagamine 2-4 0-0 4, Tomas Rodrigues 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 21-58 13-16 64.
Halftime score: Iowa Central led 43-32. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 7-19 (Branch 4-6, Gaston 1-3, Blake 1-4, Fenderson 1-1, Johnson 0-1, Latham 0-2, Edwards 0-2); Mount Mercy JV 5-21 (Ward 3-6, Fried 2-3, Dear 0-1, Schroeder 0-6, Arocho 0-2, Nagamine 0-1, Rodrigues 0-2). Turnovers: Iowa Central 7, Mount Mercy JV 9; Total fouls: Iowa Central 18, Mount Mercy JV 12.