Kimble leads No.8 Eagles by NIACC

Blessin Kimble could have played college football and pursued a career on the gridiron, but the rugged 6-foot-7 athlete wanted to play basketball in college and wear sneakers instead of cleats.

The Kirkwood Eagles are sure glad he did.

Kimble helped lead the eighth-ranked Eagles to a 70-61 victory over NIACC in a conference game Wednesday night with a relentless performance around the basket at Johnson Hall.

Kimble had several Division I football offers and was pursued by the Iowa State Cyclones as a receiver, but he loves basketball more than football.

"I just wanted to go to college and do something I enjoy doing," he said.

Kimble finished with a team-high 15 points and put the Eagles on his broad shoulders when they needed him the most.

"He was big down the stretch," said Kirkwood Coach Tim Sandquist. "A relentless effort on the glass."

Kimble, a powerful young man at 235 pounds, was not able to finish as many shots as he would have liked, but he kept getting fouled and kept marching to the charity stripe, where he hit 11 of 16.

Kirkwood was clinging to a 58-55 lead with four minutes remaining, but Kimble made three free throws and added a layup during a 7-1 spurt that lifted the Eagles out of danger at 65-56.

Blessin is not a nickname. It's his given legal name and he answers to it proudly.

"It comes from my mom," he said. "She had me and thought I was a blessing."

Kirkwood (2-1) struggled at times against NIACC, but the Eagles found a way to win despite shooting only 38.5 percent from the field. They made 25 of 33 free throws and committed only three turnovers in the second half.

Sandquist called several timeouts in the first half with the Eagles struggling, but they buckled down on defense and built a 15-point lead before NIACC (0-3) made a strong surge in the second half.