Pirates basketball took another road loss on Tuesday when they were downed 102-91 by Iowa Western Community College.  With a record of 23-3, the Pirates have two regular season matchups left, both against Region XVI foes.  NCMC is in the driver's seat for the #1 seed in the upcoming region tournament, as long as they can take care of business in those games.  The Pirates region record is 2-0.

Scoring was not the issue for the Pirates on Tuesday night, with five players totaling double figures.  Leading the way was Atavian Butler with 22 points and TJ Babikir with 18.  As a team, NCMC shot 55% from the field in defeat.  The Pirates did turn the ball over 16 times Tuesday night.

Defensively, the Pirates high intensity press did not result in the usual high amount of turnovers from their opponent.  Iowa Western turned it over just 9 times.  The Pirates also struggled to find answers in defending Reivers guard Caleb Huffman.  He totaled 30 points in the win, up from his season average 15.9ppg.  Iowa Western also shot 45% from the three-point line, knocking in four more trifectas than the Pirates.  The 102 Reiver points was the second highest amount allowed by NCMC this season.