(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College men's basketball team opened play in the 2023 Region 4 Division II District 3 Tournament with a hard fought 92-87 win over Illinois Valley Community College on Thursday evening in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The fourth-seeded Chiefs (23-8), which had downed the fifth-seeded Eagles (12-19) early in the season 82-66 in Oglesby, made 9 of 12 free throws in the final minute to hold off the visitors. Waubonsee now advances to a semi-final match-up with top-seeded and fifth-ranked South Suburban College (26-5) at noon on Sunday, March 5 at Rock Valley College in Rockford. The game is a rematch of last year's Region 4 title game that the Bulldogs hung on to win 74-73 on their way to capturing the NJCAA Division II National Championship with an unblemished 33-0 record.
The Chiefs came out intensely focused, punctuated a minute into the contest when Brice Langford threw down an emphatic one-handed slam dunk. A moment later Jaylyn Kelley drained a three-pointer from the left wing to give Waubonsee an early 7-3 lead. Illinois Valley's Henry Lorton then missed a breakaway lay-up and Duane Doss immediately made the visitors pay for it when he drilled a trey from the left corner as part of a 9-0 run and 16-7 Chiefs lead five minutes into the game.
The Eagles fought back to take a 22-21 lead midway through the first half. Waubonsee regained the lead shortly thereafter when Dylan Fuzak found the 6'10" Langford open underneath for a two-handed jam. Illinois Valley's 7'1" center Tavarius Vinson answered on the ensuing possession with a dunk of his own as the lead changed hands several times over a five-minute span. After the Eagles took a 29-28 lead Waubonsee reeled off another 7-0 run. Joey Niesman then drove to the rim and dished off to Langford who threw down another one-handed jam to the delight of the home fans and his teammates. Waubonsee secured a 42-34 lead with five minutes left in the half when Niesman buried a triple from the top of the key. The action packed first half was capped off when Niesman connected on another long three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Chiefs a 48-41 lead at the break.
Niesman scored again to start the second half as Waubonsee put together another 7-0 run and went in front 54-41 three minutes into the period. The Eagles got within six points at 58-52 prompting Chiefs' head coach Lance Robinson to call a timeout. Following the halt in play Illinois Valley was able to pull within two at 62-60 midway through the half. A minute later the Eagles pulled even when Vijay Wallace scored on a drive to the basket. Highlighted by a three-point play by Niesman Waubonsee went in front 71-65 with six minutes to go. A minute later Kelley sank a pair of long three-pointers from the right wing to extend the lead to 79-70 as the Eagles called timeout to try and stop the Chiefs' momentum.
Waubonsee built the lead to 11 points before the Eagles cut the deficit to six with two minutes to go. An inside basket by Colton Schutt helped keep Illinois Valley at bay as time began to run out for the Eagles. Free throws by Kelley, Niesman, Schutt and David Robinson down the stretch then clinched the victory for the Chiefs.
Niesman led Waubonsee with 27 points to go along with grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists. Kelley finished with 18 points and four assists, Langford added 14 points and seven boards. Schutt chipped in with 13 points and four assists, while Doss ended the game with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Wallace led all scorers with 28 points and Jalen Brown contributed 24 for the Eagles in the season-ending loss.