(Sugar Grove, IL) –After capturing their 20th win of the season at Elgin Community College on Tuesday evening, Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team looked to take another step toward securing a first round home game in the upcoming Region 4 Division II Tournament. The Chiefs (21-8, 8-5) hosted Oakton Community College (8-20, 2-11) in an Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) match-up. Despite entering the evening in last place in the ISCC standings, the Owls gave Waubonsee all it could handle throughout much of the game before the Chiefs rallied and pulled out a 73-66 victory.
The Chiefs opened the scoring a minute into the game when Duane Doss buried a three-point shot from the top of the key. Oakton then went on a 6-0 run before the Chiefs got on track. Waubonsee eventually tied the score at 11-all on a trey by Jaylyn Kelley. Midway through the half Oakton held a 25-20 lead after the Chiefs' Dylan Fuzak nailed a triple from the top of the key. An inside basket by Brice Langford followed by a steal and fast break lay-up by Doss cut the Owls lead to 30-25 with six and a half minutes left in the first half. Oakton built the lead back up to double digits at 37-25 two minutes later. Waubonsee then closed the half on a 10-1 run as Colton Schutt nailed a trey from the left corner, and Julian Acosta banked in a 10-foot jumper from the left-wing moments later as the Chiefs moved within striking range. A long triple by Joey Niesman in the final seconds cut the deficit to 38-35 as the teams headed to their locker rooms.
A reverse lay-up by Schutt got the Chiefs started a minute into the second half. A tip-in by Langford moments later got Waubonsee within a point at 40-39. On their ensuing possession Langford scored on a left-handed shot in the lane to give the Chiefs' their first lead since the opening minute of the game. A three-pointer by Kelley and a driving lay-up by Doss put the Chiefs in front 46-42. After shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor in the first half, the Owls could not buy a basket in the first seven minutes of the second half as Waubonsee turned up the defensive pressure. Doss then hit a long shot from beyond the arc to highlight a 16-4 run as the Chiefs took a 51-42 lead.
A reverse tip-in by Fuzak midway through the second half gave the Chiefs a double-digit lead at 55-44. The freshman from Geneva then connected from long range shortly thereafter as Waubonsee tried to pull away. However, Oakton clawed back within nine points at 63-54 with six minutes left in the game. Kelley answered with another three-pointer, his fifth of the night, as Waubonsee worked to hold off the Owls. The Chiefs still led 69-59 with two minutes to go until Doss went behind his back in transition to fake out an Oakton defender and then fed Niesman for a lay-in. An offensive rebound and lay-in by Kelley with 0:45 to go all but clinched the win for the Chiefs. A long three by the Owls' Delon Zellicofer-White in the waning seconds closed out the scoring.
Kelley led Waubonsee with 17 points and five rebounds. Needing 22 points to reach 1,000 in his Waubonsee career, Niesman finished the night with 15 points to go along with four assists. With two more games guaranteed, the sophomore from Oswego High School should reach the milestone within the next week. Doss ended the night with a double-double scoring 13 points and hauling down 10 rebounds, while handing out five assists. Fuzak chipped in with 10 points and Langford snagged 17 boards and booked nine points.
The Chiefs are set to play in Cicero this Saturday, February 25 against Morton College in their final regular season contest beginning at 3:00 p.m. The seeding meeting for the Region 4 Tournament is set for this coming Sunday. The tournament is set to begin on Thursday, March 2 with the higher seeds hosting first round games. The Chiefs' opponent, location of the game and start time is yet-to-be-determined.