Ironmen upset sixth-ranked Rock Island

Jonah Kramer, Sports Editor • Dec 14, 2021

The Community boys basketball team beat the previously undefeated Rock Island Rocks 67-60 at home on Tuesday night.

The Ironmen used a balanced scoring attack to jump out to early leads of 22-7 after the first quarter and 41-21 at halftime.

The Rocks chipped away at the deficit in the third quarter, trailing 49-35 heading into the fourth and cutting the Ironmen lead to 5 points late in the game.

Two free throws by Trey Redd (‘22) with 15 seconds left put the Rocks’ comeback attempt to rest, as the Ironmen improved to 8-1 on the season.

Zach Cleveland (‘22) finished with 17 points while Crofton Perry (‘22) and Redd each had 14.

On the defensive end, Community held Rock Island 25 points under their season scoring average. Tyler Dwinal (‘22) provided a spark by taking 3 charges, increasing his total to 9 on the season.

Rock Island point guard Amarion Nimmers led the Rocks with 23 points after a 45 point performance in the Rocks’ last game.

The Rocks came into the game ranked first in Max Preps’ 3A rankings and sixth in the state overall. When the Ironmen, who are 4A, defeated East St. Louis 50-37 earlier this season, the Flyers were the top ranked 3A school at the time.

The win for the Community comes after a conference loss at Champaign Centennial on Dec. 10, with the Chargers making a late comeback to win 61-59.

Community heads back into Big 12 action with a home game against Peoria Richwoods on Friday Dec. 17.

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About the Contributor

Jonah Kramer, Sports Editor

Jonah Kramer is a senior at Normal Community High School and participates in Best Buddies, FBLA and cross country. This is his second year working with the Inkspot, where he is a senior staff reporter. A random fact about me is that my front tooth has been broken five different times. My favorite film is Knives Out. What inspires me is Jesus Christ.