(Sugar Grove, IL.) - Waubonsee Community College gradually pulled away in the second half to secure a 89-76 victory over Illinois Valley Community College in the last game of the two-day Chiefs' Round Robin Invitational Tournament. In the first game Saturday afternoon Sandburg held off a frantic rally by Oakton to pull out an 81-76 win. The Chargers (3-2) led by as many as 25 in the second half before the Owls (2-2) got within three points in the final minute on the strength of eight three-point baskets by Jordan Irivng down the stretch.
Just as they had Friday night, the Chiefs started out sluggish and allowed Illinois Valley (2-2) grabbed an 11-4 lead at the outset. Josh McAuley helped get the Chiefs offense on track with a couple inside baskets as Waubonsee took its' first lead 12-11 at the 12:28 mark. Another inside basket by Bradlee Mills off of a nice feed from Jake Hed staked the Chiefs to a 30-22 lead with 6:20 to go resulting in an Eagles' timeout. Illinois Valley regrouped and went on a 14-3 run after the stop in play to pull ahead 36-33. A steal by and lay-in by Jacqui Orr in the final minute put the Chiefs up 44-37. A technical foul on the Eagles after the play resulted in two more free throws as the Chiefs increased their advantage to nine points. Waubonsee eventually went to the locker room with a 48-41 lead.
A three-point play by Mills five minutes into the second half pushed the Chiefs' lead to 60-46. Long-range three-pointers on three consecutive trips then broke the game open as Waubonsee grabbed a 71-50 with 11:52 remaining. Illinois Valley was never able to get the deficit down to single digits after that. The closest the Eagles came was with two minutes left when they pulled to within 11 at 87-76.
McAuley posted his fourth straight double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds to lead the way. Waubonsee placed four players in double figures as Mills finished with 15 points and seven rebounds. Elijah Marto nailed three from beyond the arc on his way to booking 13 points, while Simeon Strauss chipped in with 10 points and five assists. Orr had a great all-around game, recording seven steals, dishing out eight assists, snagging 10 rebounds and contributing seven points. Addison Bode handed out six assists and Jymil Toney pitched in with eight points. Waubonsee out rebounded the Eagles 57-41 for the game, held Illinois Valley to 27 percent (19 of 71) shooting from the field and out scored them 46-16 in the paint.
The Chiefs are in action again this coming Tuesday, November 13 when they host South Suburban College. Coach Jim Williams' women tip-off at 5:00 p.m. (CDT) against the Bulldogs, while coach Dave Heiss' squad takes the floor at 7:00 p.m. against a South Suburban team that was ranked second nationally in the NJCAA's Division II Pre-Season poll. Both games will be streamed "live" on-line at www.GoChiefs.com with IBCA Hall of Famers Mark Krueger and Mark Lindo calling all the action.