(Sugar Grove, IL) – Carl Sandburg College led by as many as 20 points and forced Waubonsee Community College to play catch-up the entire game. However, the Chiefs clawed and scrapped their way back, and hit some clutch shots to pull out an improbable 83-82 overtime victory on Saturday afternoon in the Inaugural Chiefs' Classic at Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The Chiefs (9-1), ranked 14th in the latest NJCAA Division II poll, won despite being outrebounded 39-27 overall. The Chargers (8-6) finished the game shooting 59 percent (33 of 56) from the floor but committed 27 costly turnovers.
After rallying to pull out a thrilling overtime win against Joliet Junior College last evening, the Chargers came out firing on all cylinders. The visitors took a quick 13-2 lead after four minutes of play. At the same time the Chiefs, who easily dispatched Rockford University's Junior Varsity 117-86 the night before, could hardly make a basket or get a rebound against Sandburg. Two minutes later the lead had bulged to 18-4 after a three-pointer by the Chargers' Marckell Longstreet.
At the midway point of the first half the Chiefs trailed 23-8. Donovan Brown then buried a long three-pointer from the right wing to make it 25-11. But the Chargers responded with a three of their own and a put back basket to push the lead to 30-11. Sandburg led by as many as 20 points before a high arching trey by Dylan Fuzak helped get the deficit down to 32-16 with five minutes to go until halftime. Great ball movement that resulted in a triple by Brown then gave the Chiefs some momentum. A moment later Duane Doss made a steal and was fouled on his drive to the rim. The sophomore point guard converted both free throws to suddenly get Waubonsee within 34-25.
Zachariah Hayslett then went coast-to-coast, grabbing a rebound on the defensive end and driving to score in transition on the other end to make it a seven-point contest. A short time later Fuzak drilled another triple and Doss scored on a slashing drive to the basket to make it a five-point game as Waubonsee kept chipping away. The Chargers' Jeremiah Babers answered with a fade away jumper with a minute remaining as Sandburg held a 42-35 lead at the break. For the first half Sandburg owned a 22-12 advantage on the boards while shooting 61 percent (17 of 28) from the floor. Meanwhile, Waubonsee shot 35 percent (11 of 31) from the field, including only making four of 19 from three-point range.
The second half started in similar fashion to how the first half did as the Chargers scored three quick baskets and the Chiefs turned the ball over three consecutive possessions. A three-pointer from the right corner by Doss cut the Chargers lead back to single digits five minutes into the period at 48-41. However, Sandburg responded and built the lead back to 13 points with 12 minutes to go. Waubonsee still trailed 60-50 at the midway point of the second half after Brown connected on a long three. Each time the Chiefs got it down to single digits it seemed the Chargers either answered with a basket or Waubonsee turned the ball over.
A put back basket by Brown finally got the deficit back to single digits at 62-54 with eight minutes left. A pair of free throws by Doss then made it 64-58 with four minutes to go, the closest the Chiefs had been since the opening minutes of the game. A trey from the left corner by David Robinson got Waubonsee within 66-61 with 3:24 remaining. The teams traded baskets as it remained a five-point contest with two minutes to go. Fernando Perez then scored on a drive to the basket and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to make it a 69-66 game with 1:45 left. A fast break lay-in by Hayslett then made it a one-point game as the one-minute mark approached. However, it appeared Babers delivered the game-clinching dagger when he connected on a long three to give the Chargers a 72-68 lead with 0:48 remaining.
But the Chiefs hadn't fought so hard to just give up at that point. A moment later Perez was fouled on a drive to the basket and converted both free throws with 0:39 left to make it one possession game once more. Sandburg then called timeout with 0:26 left and a nine second difference between the shot clock and game clock. Trapped by the Chiefs' defense after inbounding it the Chargers called a second timeout with 0:19 to go. Brown then tied up Longstreet forcing a jump ball, giving the Chiefs the ball back on the alternate possession with 0:14 left. Perez then buried a pull-up, 12-foot jumper from the right side of the lane with 0:07.6 remaining to tie the game at 72-all. Babers' last-second 25-foot shot at the buzzer was short sending the game to overtime.
In the opening minute of the extra session the teams traded baskets. The Chargers were able to then take a 78-74 lead on an inside basket and a pair of free throws by Babers. Free throws by Robinson made it 78-76 with two and half minutes to go. However, the Chargers scored again and Waubonsee turned the ball over with two minutes remaining. After a helter-skelter minute of back-and-forth action Brown finally was able to score on a fast break lay-up to make it a two-point game again with a minute to go.
On the Chargers' ensuing possession they turned the ball over to Waubonsee via a 5-second violation. Perez then proceeded to drill a clutch three-pointer to put the Chiefs in front with 0:35 left in overtime. A Waubonsee foul with 0:17 remaining sent Babers to the foul line where he calmly sank both charity tosses to put his team in front once more at 82-81. A moment later Hayslett slashed his way to the basket and dished off to a wide-open Robinson underneath the basket. The 6'4" sophomore quickly scored from close range to put the Chiefs ahead with ten ticks left on the clock. Sandburg pushed the ball up the floor and tried to get a pass into the paint, but it was deflected into the right corner by a Waubonsee defender. As a Sandburg player ran over to grab the ball the Chargers frantically called timeout with just 0:01.5 remaining. After both teams called timeouts, Sandburg got the ball inbounds to Babers on the right wing, but his 25-foot shot caromed off the right side of the rim as the buzzer sounded as the home crowd exhaled in relief.
For the game Waubonsee shot 83 percent from the foul line, finishing 20 of 24. Perez led the way with 22 points, including connecting on seven of eight foul shots and knocking down several big shots down the stretch. Brown chipped in with 18 before fouling out in the final half minute of overtime. Robinson booked 16 points, all in the second half. Doss contributed in a myriad of ways by scoring 13 points, grabbing six rebounds, handing out eight assists and making seven steals. Babers netted a game-high 27 points to go along with eight assists to lead the Chargers.
Waubonsee has three more games remaining before the Holiday break. Coach Lance Robinson's Chiefs travel to Black Hawk College in Moline next Saturday, December 16 before heading up to Wisconsin to take on Madison College on Monday, December 18. Waubonsee returns home on Tuesday, December 19 to host Dominican University's Junior Varsity. Tipoff against the Stars is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. Waubonsee will then have a 17-day layoff leading into the New Year.