.jpg)
After a few moral victories, the Vermilion Ironhawks finally got the real thing on Wednesday night.
The community college men’s basketball team dominated against visiting Leech Lake, riding a 33-point outburst from freshman Jaylen Shelly to an 89-58 nonconference win.
The victory was Vermilion’s first in nine games, and came in the midst of a brutal nonconference grind which has included two defeats to Division I junior college Williston State (N.D.) and Division III’s number-one ranked team in the nation Riverland.
Last weekend, Vermilion gave unbeaten M State-Fergus Falls a scare before fading late in an 81-65 defeat. The Ironhawks put those disappointments behind them Wednesday, building a big early advantage against Leech Lake.
Vermilion led 42-20 at halftime and built its edge to 30-points plus in the second half, with Shelly leading the way.
He went 14-for-28 from the floor including five-for-13 from three-point range.
Freshmen Rashad Parms and Rashad Gatewood both hit double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Mudia Gbowa pulled down 11 rebounds and Tyson Rogers dished out eight assists with three steals.
Vermilion’s Judah Pickens came off the bench to contribute nine points with five rebounds.
Ian Green provided the bulk of the offense for Leech Lake, leading his team with 30 points.
• On Saturday, Vermilion cut a nine-point halftime deficit and rallied to tie the game against Fergus Falls, only to see the Spartans regain control down the stretch.
The Spartans’ Foday Sheriff proved to be too hard to handle, scoring 27 points and securing 12 rebounds while teammate Javin Tindall added 10 points.
All five Spartan starters scored in double figures.
For Vermilion, Shelly provided a spark off the bench, knocking down four triples and leading his team with 16 points.
Gatewood was next with 14 points while Gbowa and Parms had 10 points each, with Parms adding 10 rebounds.
• The night before, St. Cloud Tech held on for a 7567 victory in another contest that went down to the final two minutes.
The Cyclones maintained a 42-31 edge on the boards and did just enough to keep the Ironhawks.
Jack Boos led four St. Cloud players in double digits, contributing 14 points.
Gbowa paced Vermilion with 14 points and six rebounds, with Shelly adding 12 points and both Rogers and Gatewood scoring 10. Parms hauled down 10 rebounds.
• Vermilion closed out a pre-holiday slate Friday at Rochester. Northern Division play begins in early-January.
