(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's Men's Basketball team hosted Rockford University's Junior Varsity in a rare Sunday afternoon contest. After a quick start by the Chiefs, the Regents caught fire and pulled out a stunning 95-88 victory to hand Waubonsee a rare defeat. Rockford made 14 shots from beyond the arc, finished 17 of 19 from the foul line and shot 48 percent from the field overall for the game. In contrast the Chiefs made just 8 of 18 from the charity stripe in dropping their second game of the season.
Owning a definitive height advantage on the shorter Regents (5-4), the Chiefs (10-2) controlled the boards from the outset. Waubonsee opened the game with an 8-0 run over the initial two and half minutes of play before Rockford called timeout. When play resumed the Chiefs' Colton Schutt nailed a three-pointer from the left corner and Brice Langford followed that up with a strong inside move and lay-in for a quick 13-0 lead. It was 15-0 before the Regents finally got on the scoreboard more than four minutes into the game. Rockford finally got their first offensive rebound, one of only four for the entire game, after eight minutes of play and quickly converted a trey to pull within 21-13. The Regents got as close as five points midway through the half when Amareon Parker connected on a pair of free throws.
A minute later head coach Lance Robinson put his starters back in looking to turn the momentum around. However, moments later Parker drilled a three-pointer to cut the deficit to just 29-25. The Regents continued to battle, clawing their way back to tie the game with seven minutes left in the half. It remained tied two minutes later until J. Caleb Slawinski scored on a drive to the rim and was fouled. He completed the three-point play to give Waubonsee a 34-31 lead with five minutes to go. The undersized Regents, featuring guards all 6'0" or under, continued to push the tempo and fire away from beyond the arc. A baseline drive and two-handed flush by Joey Niesman gave the Chiefs a 42-37 lead with just over a minutes remaining in the first half. A short jumper in the lane by Rockford's Isaiah Jackson just before the buzzer ended the first period with Waubonsee in front just 44-40.
Rockford then opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers to take the lead for the first time in the game. Two minutes into the half the Regents opened up a 50-44 lead prompting a timeout by Robinson in an attempt to get his crew on track. The Chiefs went to a full court press after the halt in play in an effort to take Rockford out of its offensive rhythm. The strategy gradually began to reap dividends as the Chiefs pulled within 58-55 five minutes into the half. However, the Regents responded and built their biggest lead at 70-61 midway through the period.
A pair of lay-ins by Schutt and a triple by David Robinson got the Chiefs within 70-68 with eight minutes to go. Rockford continued to be resilient and tallied seven of the next nine points to grab a 77-70 lead. A pair of free throws by Parker pushed the Regents' lead back up to 81-73 with four minutes to go. A three-pointer by Fernando Perez with two and half minutes remaining cut the deficit to five points. But parker answered once again with a rainbow trey from deep in the left corner seconds later that seemed to take the air out of Waubonsee's sails. From that point on the teams traded baskets as Rockford held on for the road win.
Slawinski paced Waubonsee in scoring with 18 points, while Schutt ended the game with 16 points and five assists. Niesman booked a double double by tallying 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go along with handing out eight assists. Jaylyn Kelley chipped in with 11 points and five assists, and Langford hauled down eight boards for Waubonsee. Parker led all scorers with 42 points, making five treys and going a perfect 11 for 11 at the foul line, while also snagging nine boards, registering six assists and making three steals. The Chiefs are set to finish the first half of the season on the road when they head to South Holland to square off against fifth-ranked South Suburban College (10-1), the defending National Champions, on Tuesday, December 20. The Chiefs are Bulldogs are scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. (CDT).