(Sugar Grove, IL) –Waubonsee Community College and Bryant & Stratton College from Wisconsin engaged in an intense battle from start to finish in their Region IV Division II District 3 Men's Basketball Tournament Semi-Final match-up. The second-seeded Chiefs (20-7) eventually pulled out a thrilling 83-77 victory in the final minute to earn their 20th win of the season as well. The third-seeded Bobcats saw their season come to an end with an 18-13 overall record. The Chiefs now advance to the championship game next Saturday, March 5, where they will face the number one team in the country, undefeated South Suburban College (28-0). The Bulldogs downed fifth-seeded Illinois Valley Community College 68-57 to reach the finals. The title game will be played in South Holland, with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m. The contest can be seen 'live' on-line at www.GoChiefs.com
Traevon Brown buried a three-pointer from the left wing to get things started. Two minutes later the Chiefs took a 7-1 lead on a pair of free throws by Brice Langford. Five minutes into the game Waubonsee led just 11-9 after the Bobcats' Nduka Ogwu threw down a two-handed jam. The teams traded threes for the next couple of minutes as the Chiefs hung on to a slim 17-15 lead after eight minutes of play. A trey by Colton Schutt midway through the half made the score 24-20 in favor of Waubonsee, before Bryant & Stratton took its first lead 28-26 on a pair of free throws by Malik Tidwell with eight minutes remaining in the first stanza.
After head coach Lance Robinson called a timeout, the Chiefs went in front on their ensuing possession on a triple by Anthony Thompson. A few moments later Tidwell connected on two more free throws to give the Bobcats' their biggest lead at 36-31 with five minutes to go until the break. Shortly thereafter Thompson drilled a three from the top of the key to get the deficit down to 38-37. Over the next minute of play each team received a technical foul with Thompson tying the game at 40-all on a shot from the charity stripe. A triple by Brown from deep in the right corner in the final minute put the Chiefs back in front 45-41 before they went to the intermission with a 45-43 lead.
Waubonsee came out to start the second half clicking on all cylinders. A fade away, 15-foot jumper by Joey Niesman started the second half giving Waubonsee a four-point lead once more. Not long afterwards Langford scored on a thunderous two-handed slam off an assist from Brown to make it 54-45. Niesman then buried a long trey on the next trip down the court to cap off a 12-2 run and give Waubonsee its' biggest lead of the game at 57-45. After a Bryant & Stratton timeout, the Bobcats fought back to get within 63-60 midway through the half on a three-pointer by Brenden Lankford-Johnson. The Chiefs then lost a big part of their inside presence when the 6'10" Langford went down with an ankle sprain.
Another basket from beyond the arc by Quintin Winterfeldt put the visitors back on top 65-63 with seven minutes remaining. The sophomore from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin drilled another three a moment later to increase the lead to five points. Waubonsee clawed back to tie it at 68-all on a free throw by Thompson with five minutes to go. The game was tied once and the lead changed hands three times over the next two minutes of action. A drive and pull up jumper by Niesman with three minutes to go then put the Chiefs ahead for good at 73-72. A triple by the Bobcats' Lankford-Johnson tied it a minute a later and Cooper Larsen immediately answered with a three from the right wing to make it 78-75.
After a misfire by the Bobcats, Waubonsee got the rebound and called timeout with 1:20 to go. Niesman then scored inside on a short one-hander in the lane for a five-point Chiefs' advantage. A basket by Jeremiah Maldonado seconds later and foul got the deficit to 80-77 with 0:43 remaining. However, the native of Webster, Texas missed the ensuing free throw and the Chiefs got the rebound. An offensive foul on Thompson on a drive to basket with 0:20 remaining set the stage for the Bobcats' to potentially knot the score. However, Tidwell's trey came up short and Larsen snagged the rebound and was immediately fouled with 0:09 left. The Indian Creek High School product nailed the second of two free throws for a four-point Waubonsee lead. The Bobcats then turned the ball over and Larsen cashed in at the line with two more free throws with 0:03.9 left to seal the deal.
Thompson finished with 21 points to lead all scorers, to go along with six rebounds and four assists as Waubonsee had four players in double figures. Niesman tallied 16 points, snagged seven boards, handed out three assists and made two steals. Larsen booked 15 points and grabbed five boards, while Brown added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Cam Russell chipped in with three assists and two steals, Langford hauled down five boards, and Schutt added seven points in the victory. Tidwell and Maldonado each booked 16 points to pace the Bobcats.