(Sugar Grove, IL) – Throughout nearly the entire men's basketball game between Waubonsee Community College and Morton College, it appeared that whoever had the ball last was likely to come out on top. The Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) match-up featured 24 lead changes before the Panthers slowly pulled away in the final minutes to score a 104-100 victory. In the end, free throws were the difference in the tightly contested battle. Morton (6-1) stayed on top of the ISCC standings by making 21 of 26 from the foul line. The loss drops Waubonsee to 3-3 in conference play and 11-5 overall.
The entire first half was a see-saw affair as the lead changed hands 11 times. A long three-pointer by Marco Wilson gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead early on. An 8-0 run by Morton then put them in front 11-7 three minutes into the game. A three-point play by Anthony Thompson put Waubonsee back in the lead 18-16. A triple from the left corner a few minutes later by Matas Deksnys gave the Panthers a 26-20 lead. Not too long after that Colton Schutt nailed a triple from the left corner to put Waubonsee ahead 30-29 with nine minutes left in the first half. A pair of free throws by Jaylyn Kelley with six minutes remaining in the half put the Chiefs back in front 40-39. Morton's Devin Spencer made three straight free throws to tie the game at 44 with four minutes to go. A pair of free throws by Cooper Larsen then gave the Chiefs a 48-46 lead with a minute to go. Moments later the teams went to the locker room knotted at 50-all.
Things picked up right where they left off as the lead changed hands three times in the first 70 seconds of the second half. A breakaway, two-handed slam by Morton's Keondre Johnson tied the game at 60. The teams traded the lead four more times with the Panthers going ahead 69-68 on a three-point play by Spencer. The Chiefs regained the lead 75-74 when Thompson drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key with nine minutes to go. A steal and lay-in by Joey Niesman with five minutes remaining put the Waubonsee on top 81-80. It would be the Chiefs' last lead of the night.
A three-point play by Morton's Xavier Spencer with three minutes to go put the Panthers ahead 92-86, equaling their biggest led of the night up to that point. A few moments later Thompson connected from long range to get the Chiefs within two at 92-90. But Morton then scored the next five points before Niesman buried a long three from the left corner to make it 97-93 with a minute and a half to go. A clutch three-pointer by Johnson staked Morton to a 100-93 lead shortly thereafter. The Panthers then made four free throws in the final minute to secure the win, with Niesman nailing another trey at the buzzer for the final score.
For the game Waubonsee went 17 of 26 from the foul line. Thompson finished with a collegiate career high of 30 points, connecting on four shots from beyond the arc. Niesman tallied 24 points, grabbed five steals and blocked a shot in the loss. Traevon Brown chipped in with 12 points and dished out six assists. Larsen added 11 points and hauled down eight rebounds. Brice Langford contributed seven points and seven boards, while Kelley pitched in with seven points and three assists.
The Chiefs are in action again this coming Saturday, January 29 when they host Wright College in a 10:30 a.m. contest in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. Due to the local community's amount of cases of COVID-19, no spectators are allowed at any Waubonsee athletic events at this time. The game can be seen live-streamed at https://vimeo.com/waubonseeathletics. A listing of upcoming events and athletics information is at www.gochiefs.com.