(Sugar Grove, IL) – Just like the women's team did earlier in the evening, Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team evened its' Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) record at 3-3. The Chiefs outlasted visiting Elgin Community College to pull out an 86-79 victory on Thursday evening in Erickson Hall Gymnasium to improve to 14-6 overall. The Spartans (11-11, 3-3) ended the game 15 of 17 (88 percent) from the foul line, but the Chiefs' bench outscored Elgin's 25-12 overall.
Waubonsee got on the scoreboard first as Joey Niesman drained a long three-pointer from the left wing a minute and a half into the game. Elgin's Carson Seyller knocked down a 15-foot jumper three minutes into the game to get the Spartans on the board. A couple minutes after that Jaylyn Kelley got a friendly bounce on a three-pointer, and then hit another triple the next time down the court to give the Chiefs an 11-2 lead. After an Elgin timeout, Niesman scored on a fast break lay-in to make it 15-5 in favor of the home team.
Niesman scored again near the midway point of the first half on a spinning left-handed lay-in between two Elgin defenders to just beat the shot clock and give the Chiefs a 19-12 lead. A long, high-arching trey by the Spartans' Bryce Reynolds cut Waubonsee lead to one with eight minutes remaining in the half. Moments later Colton Schutt completed a three-point play to give the Chiefs a little breathing room. However, Elgin pulled even at 22-all a minute later prompting Chiefs' head coach Lance Robinson to call a timeout.
With four minutes to go until halftime the game was tied at 26 before Melo Garrick broke the deadlock when he made the second of two free throws. A steal and breakaway lay-up by Elgin's DaRon Hall knotted the score again at 32-all with a minute remaining in the period. After an offensive foul call on Schutt erased a scoring opportunity for the Chiefs, the Spartans' Jadon Melvin completed a three-point play at the other end to put Elgin in front 35-32 with 0:14 left. However, Waubonsee's Duane Doss was then fouled on a three-point attempt at the buzzer giving him three free throws with no time left. While the Spartans headed to the locker room, the freshman point guard calmly sank all three foul shots to knot the score at 35.
Garrick scored on a drive to basket early in the second half to put Waubonsee in front 39-37. Moments later Hall responded with a three-pointer from the top of the key to put Elgin ahead by one. A short time after that Garrick tied it with a free throw as the teams battled back and forth. A triple from the right corner by David Robinson and a slicing left-handed lay-in by Kelley gave the Chiefs a 45-42 lead five minutes into the second half. Two minutes later Niesman made a steal and scored on a drive to the rim to suddenly put Waubonsee in front 51-44, their biggest lead since the midway point of the first half.
Niesman registered another steal and was fouled by Melvin, his fourth of the game, sending the Spartans' top scorer with 18 points to the bench with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. Niesman, a sophomore from Oswego High School, then scored inside on the ensuing in-bounds play to give Waubonsee an 8-point lead. A minute later a block by Brice Langford led to a fast break for the Chiefs with Julian Acosta feeding Schutt for a lay-in as the midway point of the second half approached. Once more Elgin scored the next six points to claw its' way back to within two. Langford then completed a three-point play a minute later to increase the lead back up to seven points with eight minutes to go.
The Chiefs extended the lead to 11 points on an 8-foot, turnaround jumper by Robinson. The Spartans fought back again and cut the deficit to eight with five minutes left as Waubonsee tried to hang on. The Chiefs quickly built the lead back to 13 points highlighted by a Niesman trey with three minutes to go. However, Elgin simply would not go away as they cut the deficit to 74-67 a minute later. A pair of free throws by Hall got the Spartans to within five with a minute and a half remaining.
The final minute then turned into a free throw contest as Robinson converted a pair of free throws after a loose ball foul on the Spartans' John Gray with a minute to go. Hall then connected on two free throws to again make it a five-point spread. Niesman also made two free throws as the Chiefs tried to hang on. However, Hall completed a three-point play with 0:32 remaining to pull Elgin within four at 78-74. Kelley proceeded to make a couple charity tosses seconds later and then sank two more after hauling in a rebound off an Elgin miss. Gray then drilled a three from the left corner with 0:12 to go to again make it a five-point game. Kelley basically iced the game when he made two more foul shots with 0:11 remaining. The sophomore guard finished off the scoring when he hit a final two free throws with 0:03 left, going 8-for-8 from the line in the last minute of the game.
Niesman finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals to lead the way. Kelley booked a double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Schutt chipped in with 13 points, while Langford added 10 points, Acosta dished out four assists and Doss tallied nine points for Waubonsee. Hall led all scorers with 27 points, finishing 11 for 11 from the foul line.
The Chiefs are in action again this coming Sunday, January 29, when they host North Park University's Junior Varsity beginning at 12:00 p.m. Coach Robinson's squad is on the road next Tuesday, January 31, as they head to Des Plaines to square off against Oakton Community College at 7:15 p.m. Waubonsee is home again next Thursday, February 2 when they take on the College of Lake County in another ISCC match-up starting at 7:15 p.m.