Leon Alexander made sure his parents didn't drive nearly 1,000 miles in vain here Saturday.
The Iowa Central freshman scored 12 points off the bench to help the Tritons secure their 20th victory of the season, 69-47.
Alexander, the younger brother of former Iowa Central All-American and current Drake University player Kurt Alexander, gave his team a needed boost of energy with his mother and father - Toronto-area residents Pamela and Leroy - watching from the second row. After seeing limited action recently with just six total points scored in the Tritons' last nine games, the 6-foot-4 swing player had an extra spring in his step yesterday afternoon inside Hodges Fieldhouse.
''Leon did some nice things for us offensively,'' Iowa Central head coach Dennis Pilcher said. ''He took the ball to the hole and got us going when we were struggling a little to score.
''We got some nice production from our bench (34 points). Nate (Marsh) and David (Anderson) gave us good minutes as well. Fortunately, we've had the depth to turn to different guys and not have to lean on our starters so much to carry the load every single game.''
Freshman guard Rhys Elliot paced Iowa Central (20-8 overall, 7-4 in the ICCAC) with 18 points. The Tritons actually trailed the Cougars (5-19, 0-11) early, but a 15-4 run - capped by an Alexander drive and bucket along the baseline - put the home squad comfortably ahead to stay.
Iowa Central led by as many as 23 points after an 11-0 run early in the second half.
''Rhys hit a couple of threes and Leon got loose a few times,'' Pilcher said. ''We didn't have a lot of energy coming in, playing (last-place) Clinton with Kirkwood coming up on Wednesday. That's why it was good to see some of the reserves step up and give us that boost.''
The Tritons, who have now reached the 20-victory plateau in three consecutive seasons, will visit the second-ranked Eagles (23-3, 8-0) on Wednesday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Cedar Rapids.
Contact Eric Pratt at (515) 573-2141, or by e-mail at sports@messengernews.net
IOWA CENTRAL 69, CLINTON 47
Iowa Central - Rhys Elliot 6-14 3-3 18, Robert Goffney 3-7 0-0 7, Marc Musungayi 2-5 2-2 6, Riley Stuve 2-5 0-0 4, Duke Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Leon Alexander 6-7 0-0 12, Nate Marsh 3-7 2-3 8, David Anderson 2-3 3-5 7, Javonte Young 1-3 3-4 5, Zack Garth 0-1 2-3 2, Tommy Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Clarence Kirkwood 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-54 15-20 69.
Clinton - Antoine Brown 5-10 0-0 14, Dane Barun 4-8 0-0 8, Richard Hurt 3-8 0-0 7, DeVaughn Cole-Rodney 1-8 0-0 2, Virshaun Grant 0-4 1-2 1, Robert Jones 3-6 1-1 7, Demetri Conwell 3-7 0-0 6, Ryan Frazier 1-4 0-0 2, Marcus Gustafson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 20-56 2-3 47.
Halftime score: Iowa Central led 29-21. Three-point goals: Iowa Central 4-15 (Elliot 3-7, Goffney 1-3, Marsh 0-1, Garth 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Kirkwood 0-1, Stuve 0-1); Clinton 5-19 (Brown 4-7, Hurt 1-4, Grant 0-3, Conwell 0-3, Gustafson 0-1, Cole-Rodney 0-1). Turnovers: Iowa Central 10, Clinton 14. Total fouls: Iowa Central 7, Clinton 13. Fouled out: Frazier.