Estherville, Iowa — February 21, 2026 — The Iowa Lakes Community College men's basketball team fell on the road Saturday afternoon, dropping a 96–77 contest to No. 13 Iowa Central Community College inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Iowa Lakes (5–24, 3–16) trailed 55–29 at halftime after Iowa Central delivered a dominant first half, shooting 61.1 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Lakers responded with an improved second half—shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and outscoring the Tritons 48–41—but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

Jermaine Freeman led the Lakers with 21 points, adding four rebounds and two steals while logging a team-high 39 minutes. Germaal Forde provided efficiency in the paint with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and Steven Martinez added 16 points and six rebounds while going 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Dominic Preiser battled inside with seven rebounds, four points, and three blocks. Off the bench, Timothy Ofesi contributed six points and three rebounds, while Cooper Harris added four points and three boards.

Iowa Lakes finished the game shooting 44.6 percent from the field and 68.2 percent at the free-throw line, producing 12 second-chance points and 13 points from the bench.

No. 13 Iowa Central (22–6, 14–5) showcased its depth with five players scoring in double figures, led by Aleix Sempere's 15 points. CJ Mitchell and Jordan Cain added 14 points each, as the Tritons controlled the glass with a 49–34 rebounding advantage and generated 37 bench points.

Up Next
Iowa Lakes returns home for its final game of conference play, hosting Central Community College next week inside the Iowa Lakes Gymnasium on Wednesday at 7:30 pm.