(Sugar Grove, IL) – Coming off a 94-87 win the night before at Madison College in Wisconsin, Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team closed out the first half of its season with a resounding 120-91 victory over Dominican University's Junior Varsity on Tuesday evening at Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The Chiefs set a new school record with 70 points in the first half in coasting to the win, but falling short of the program single game mark of 129 points. Waubonsee, ranked 15th in the last NJCAA Division II poll, improved to 12-1 overall on the season with their lone defeat being a one-point loss at nationally ranked Milwaukee Area (WI) Technical College on November 29.
After the Stars (0-3) tallied the first two baskets of the game David Robinson got the Chiefs on the board with a power moved to the rim for an inside score. Dylan Fuzak drilled a three-pointer from the right wing a minute later as Dominican clung to an early 7-5 lead. Waubonsee took its first lead four minutes into the game as Fuzak scored on a lay-in and Duane Doss followed with a steal and lay-up to make it 13-9. Not long after a Dominican timeout Doss connected on a trey and was fouled on the play. The sophomore guard completed the rare four-point play to give the Chiefs a 19-9 lead and they never looked back.
A two-handed slam by Robinson midway through the first half pushed the lead to 35-21. Two minutes later a 12-foot jumper from the right baseline by Donovan Taylor just before the shot clock expired helped the Chiefs maintain a double-digit lead. A triple by Zachariah Hayslett then sparked a quick 11-0 run for Waubonsee as the home team jumped ahead 52-30 with five minutes left in the half. The Chiefs closed out the half on an 18-5 run to double up on the Stars and head to the locker room with a program record of 70 points in a half. Waubonsee had five players in double-figures in the first half alone led by Hayslett and Donovan Brown with 13 points each. In addition, the Chiefs were whistled for only two fouls in the up tempo first half of play.
Dominican started the second half with an 8-0 run over the initial two minutes of action. The closest the Stars would get was 26 points as Waubonsee responded and quickly built the lead back up to 33 points. A behind a back pass from Taylor to Brown for an easy fast break basket put the Chiefs in front 87-51, their biggest lead of the game to that point. The Stars continued to try and run with Waubonsee to no avail. The Chiefs reached the century mark with eight and a half minutes left when Edvin Bosnjak made a pair of free throws to make it 100-62.
The teams traded baskets throughout much of the second half with Waubonsee maintaining a 30-plus point advantage. A steal by Hayslett led to a two-handed dunk by Bosnjak and a 113-74 lead with 3:45 remaining. The Chiefs increased that margin to 43 points with three minutes to go before the Stars then connected on several three-point shots down the stretch. Dominican finished with 14 three-point baskets and eventually outscored Waubonsee in the second half 56-50 and make the final score appear slightly closer than it was.
Hayslett tallied a game-high 21 points as 12 different Chiefs dented the scoring column. The freshman guard made 10 of 14 shots, grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and made three steals. Fernando Perez booked 19 points making nine of his 11 shots, while Brown also scored 19 points to go along with snagging six boards. Robinson chipped in with a dozen points and four assists, with Taylor adding 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Doss tallied 10 points, hauled down six rebounds, handed out three assists and recorded three steals. Fuzak also registered 10 points to give Waubonsee seven double-digit scorers. The Chiefs shot 56 percent (49 of 88) from the floor for the game. Dominican had five players reach double figures in scoring led by Dean O'Brien who contributed a double double with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
Coach Lance Robinson's squad now has a 17-day layoff over the holiday break before their next game. The Chiefs are slated to host fifth-ranked South Suburban College on Saturday, January 6, 2024 in a Region 4 showdown. The men tipoff that afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with the women's contest beginning prior to that at 1:00 p.m. The Bulldogs, currently 10-1 overall with four games still to play before their arrival in Sugar Grove, are led by stellar sophomore Jemel Jones. The 6'4" guard is currently leading all NJCAA Division II players in scoring with a 32.1 points-per-game average.