(Sugar Grove, IL) – Coming off a tough 95-94 loss at Elgin Community College on Saturday, Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team needed a win to stay in the hunt for the 2020 Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) title. The Chiefs had handed the first-place Cyclones their lone ISCC loss 92-78 in Palos Hills on January 9. This time Moraine Valley (20-4, 7-1) took control in the second half and never looked back in an epic 125-104 win at Waubonsee (16-10, 6-4).
A pair of three-pointers by Collmann Aaron in the opening minutes staked the Chiefs to an early 11-7 lead. The fast paced contest went back and forth with Moraine Valley grabbing a 32-28 lead midway through the first half. The Cyclones led 51-44 with three minutes left in the half when Cory Adams Jr. nailed a three-pointer for Waubonsee to keep the Chiefs within striking distance. Fouls started to mount for each team as 32 combined fouls were called resulting in 45 free throw attempts combined before halftime was reached. A pair of free throws by Cam Irvin and two more by Asa Williams cut the deficit to a point at 53-52 with 1:30 remaining. However, Aaron, Irvin, Courtney Fields and D.J. Ellis each picked up three personal fouls in the first half as Waubonsee head coach Lance Robinson was forced to liberally utilize his bench. The Cyclones then closed the half with a 7-1 run to head to the locker room in front 60-53.
The teams exchanged three-pointers to start the second half as the high scoring affair continued. Moraine Valley pushed its lead to 13 points at 70-57 three minutes into the second period. After the Chiefs got within eight points the Cyclones' Chris Harrison threw down a thunderous two-handed dunk a couple minutes later to put the Cyclones in control again at 78-64. Moraine Valley then extended its lead to 20 points midway through the second period at 92-72, and led by as many as 29 down the stretch as the Chiefs had no answer defensively for the Cyclones' potent offense.
Moraine Valley out scored Waubonsee 54-22 in the paint and owned the boards snagging a 54-31 advantage overall in rebounding. For the game Waubonsee made 15 of 34 three-point attempts. The Chiefs currently lead all NJCAA Division II teams in three-pointers made with 312 and shots taken from beyond the arc with 849. Despite a combined 54 fouls being whistled in the contest, only one player fouled out. Between the up-tempo play, the teams combined to shoot 76 free throws. Moraine Valley ended the game 30 of 37 (81 percent) from the line, while Waubonsee went 29 of 39 (74 percent) from the charity stripe.
Irvin led Waubonsee with 24 points, making four three-pointers. Williams finished with 16 points, four assists and six rebounds. Ellis tallied 15 points and dished out six assists, Simeon Strauss booked 14 points, hauled down eight rebounds and handed out six assists, and Fields chipped in with a dozen points and four assists. The Cyclones' Dontia Johnson led all scorers with 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Waubonsee is in action again this Thursday, February 6 when they travel to Cicero to take on Morton College at 7:15 p.m. (CDT) in an ISCC match-up. Waubonsee's women are set to take on the Panthers that evening at 5:15 p.m. (CDT). For more information on Chiefs' Athletics go on-line to www.GoChiefs.com