The Cyclones ventured west to Des Moines for a two-game tournament. Although Moraine Valley lost both efforts, they put up a solid battle against tough competition.

In their first matchup on Nov. 7, the Cyclones faced the No. 7 nationally ranked Des Moines Area Community College. A slow start in the first half saw the Cyclones down 11 points, but they made a resurgence after halftime to get within three before the buzzer, losing 71-68. Ali Oralkan had a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds) followed by TJ Lee with 14 points. Grantas Sakenis rounded out the scoring with 13 points.

The next day, the Cyclones faced North Iowa Area Community College and was dealt a 101-78 loss. Moraine Valley started off strong but had a bad stretch in the second half where Iowa took a big lead, going up by 22 at one point and making it hard for a comeback. Reggie Strong had a big game with 25 points. Josh Lawson added 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Lee had 11 points and Oralkan added 10.

"They were both really good teams, but we needed to play against that competition," said Head Coach Kyle Huppe. "We'll be fine moving forward and should rattle off a few wins in a row."