WEST DES MOINES – Northern Illinois and Iowa State are not on the same level in comparing basketball programs. Graduate transfer Darrell Bowie has noticed that during his transition from DeKalb to Ames.
“It’s a huge difference,” Bowie said. “But it has been pretty cool. I’ve been adjusting. I’ve been getting along with the players and coaches. I’ve just been enjoying it.”
During his time in the red and black of Northern Illinois, Bowie was a do-it-all guy. In his last full season (2014-15), Bowie averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Don’t expect anything less than that “do-it-all” mentality for the Cyclones once he steps on the court this fall in Hilton Coliseum.
On the defensive side, Bowie wants to be aggressive, as the Cyclones need him to be.
“I’m trying to add a lot of weight because going from the MAC to the Big 12, I’m facing bigger, faster, stronger guys,” Bowie said. “And I’m working on my ball handling a lot. Be prepared and knock down open shots.”
While Bowie works on these things heading into his last year of collegiate basketball, he is eager to face the other teams in the Big 12.
“Me and Monte talk about it every day,” Bowie said. “We’ve got to prepare each and every day.”
Game 1: Vorland Photo 110, Lions Club 98
The first game of the last day of regular season games featured the duo of Matt Thomas and Simeon Carter for Vorland Photo. Thomas set fire to the nets as he shot 71.4 percent while tallying 37 points in a victory over the Lions Club. Carter did the dirty work as he tallied eight boards and four blocked shots.
Game 2: ADIO Chiropractic 125, Hannah Homes 117 in OT
The second game of the night featured Deonte Burton and Stuart Nezlek of Hannah Homes against a Nick Weiler-Babb and the rest of ADIO Chiropractic. This game was fun from start to finish. Burton, Nezlek and Holmes led 115-113 with 10 seconds left in the game until Weiler-Babb drove through the lane and scored the tying layup to send the game in overtime. Burton scored 42 points total while Nezlek chipped in three points for Hannah. And Weiler-Babb led ADIO with 33 points. However, Babb didn’t record a triple-double like he has the past few games. These two teams will face on another again on Friday (July 15) at 5:30 p.m.
Game 3: Renaissance Granite and Quartz 103, Phoenix Renewable Resources 99
The last game of the night featured what most would consider the top two stars on the Iowa State basketball team as Monte Morris of RGQ took on Naz Mitrou-Long of PRR. The winner of this bout was Morris both on the stat sheet and the final score. Morris recorded 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting, while Mitrou-Long tallied 21 points on a subpar six of 19 shooting. Other Cyclones in this game were grad transfer Darrell Bowie, who led PRR with 29 points and Wes Greder, who recorded three points. With this result, RGQ finished with the fourth seed and PRR finished with the fifth seed. These two teams will face on another again on Friday at 8 p.m. after the dunk contest.
