(Danville, IL) – Waubonsee Community College and Iowa Lakes Community College engaged in a back-and-forth battle throughout their first-round game at the 16-team, double-elimination 2023 NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament. The 12th seeded Chiefs (26-8) eventually pulled out a thrilling 70-64 win over the 5th seeded Lakers (24-9) at the Mary Miller Center Gymnasium for their third straight victory over a ranked opponent. The game featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes with the biggest lead for either team being just seven points. Waubonsee now advances to play the host school 4th seeded Danville Area Technical College tomorrow, Thursday, March 23 at 8:00 p.m.
The Jaguars (25-4) topped 13th seeded Johnson County (KS) Community College (26-8) in their first-round contest on day one of the tournament 67-46. The unranked Chiefs earned their seventh appearance at the National Tournament in school history by knocking off a pair of nationally ranked teams in the Region 4 Tournament. Fourth-seeded Waubonsee shocked fifth-ranked and top-seeded South Suburban College 70-59 before rallying from a 19-point deficit to beat 17th ranked Bryant & Stratton (WI) College 77-73. With the upset of Iowa Lakes, the Chiefs have extended their winning streak to seven games and have won 15 of their last 17 contests overall.
Neither team could score in the opening two minutes of play until Joey Niesman drained a three-pointer from the top of the key. Intense defense resulted in both teams misfiring several times in the opening minutes as the game was tied at 5-all five after five minutes of play. Waubonsee then grabbed a 10-8 lead on a long trey by Jaylyn Kelley coming out of a timeout two minutes later. The Chiefs held a 14-10 lead midway through the first half after Niesman nailed a spinning, turn around 12-foot jumper.
Waubonsee missed several prime scoring opportunities over the next two minutes of action as the Lakers went on a 7-0 run. A spinning lay-in by Niesman off a feed from Dylan Fuzak snapped the streak and got the Chiefs within 17-16 with 6:50 to go in the half. A drive and lay-up by Duane Doss put Waubonsee back in front moments later. A triple by Colton Schutt on the ensuing possession pushed the lead to 21-17. Niesman then connected on another three-pointer a couple minutes later to put Waubonsee in front 27-22. A steal by Kelley and a fastbreak lay-in by Niesman extended the lead to seven points l, the biggest lead of the game for either team. The Lakers then scored in the waning seconds of the period as the teams went to the locker room with the Chiefs in front 29-24.
The Lakers came out to start the second half with renewed vigor and reeled off seven straight points to take a 31-29 lead. Waubonsee responded to regain the lead at 36-33 on a three-pointer by David Robinson from just in front of the Chiefs' bench five minutes into the second half. A dunk by the Lakers' 6'10" Creighton Morisch two minutes later put Iowa Lakes back in front 37-36. However, a pair of free throws by Waubonsee's 6'10" center Brice Langford gave the Chiefs a one-point lead with 13 minutes to go. A three from the left corner by Niesman tied the game at 41 at the 11-minute mark. The game was deadlocked at 44-all midway through the second half.
Schutt was then fouled on a three-point attempt and converted all three charity tosses to knot the score once more at 47. A trey by Niesman and anorther by Fuzak suddenly put the Chiefs ahead 53-47 with seven minutes remaining prompting a timeout by Lakers' head coach Troy Larson. Patient on offense, Fuzek snagged a huge offensive rebound and fed Doss who laid it in just before the shot clock expired. However, a pair of three-point baskets got Iowa Lakes back within two points at 55-53 with five minutes left in regulation.
The teams traded baskets as the game headed down the stretch until Isaiah Williams connected on a three-pointer to put the Lakers in the lead 58-57. Langford then buried a pair of free throws to give Waubonsee a one-point lead with two minutes to go. A three-point play by Doss shortly thereafter extended the lead to 62-58 before the Lakers' Amiri Crowder completed his own three-point play to make it a one-point contest once again. After Doss made one of two free throws Langford intercepted an interior pass and Kelley drilled a crucial three-pointer in transition with 0:34 remaining to give Waubonsee a 66-61 lead. Kelley then clinched the victory by making two free throws with 0:21 seconds left, and two more shots from the foul line with 10 ticks left on the clock.
Niesman led Waubonsee with a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and three steals. The Oswego High School product has now scored 103 points in Waubonsee's four post-season games, an average of 25.8 per contest, which is eight more than his season average. Kelley finished with 15 points, six boards and three steals, while the 5'10" Doss added a dozen points and seven rebounds from his point guard position. Langford chipped in with eight points and snagged 12 rebounds, including six on the offensive end of the floor. For the game Waubonsee converted 15 of 18 foul shots (88 percent) to overcome shooting only 30 percent (22 of 72) from the field.
