(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team improved to 3-0 on the season with a convincing 96-70 victory over the College of DuPage on Saturday afternoon in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The Chiefs gradually pulled away from the Chaparrals (1-2) in the first half and cruised to their third straight win to begin the season. For the game Waubonsee's bench outscored DuPage's 48-12 and tallied 24 assists as a team on 36 made baskets.
Reece Boyd drilled a three-pointer from the left wing on Waubonsee's first possession to start the game. Neither team was sharp offensively in the early going as the Chiefs led just 7-3 five minutes into the contest. A short time later Dylan Fuzak nailed a trey from the right wing to put Waubonsee in front 13-6. As the midway point of the half approached the Chiefs' defense continued to stymie DuPage. Aboubacar Sidibe made a steal and finished with a slick reverse lay-up at the other end to make it 20-7.
Waubonsee led by at least a dozen points from that point on. Boyd splashed a three-pointer from the left corner and Fernando Perez scored on a short shot in the lane to extend the lead to 33-14 with seven minutes left in the half. DuPage slightly chipped away at the deficit, but Boyd quieted them with another triple from the left corner. His fourth long ball of the first half helped Waubonsee build its lead up to 20 points with two minutes remaining in the half. The Chiefs eventually carried a comfortable 51-30 lead into the locker room on the strength of owning a 15-0 advantage in fast break points and a 16-2 edge in points in the paint.
Duane Doss slashed to the basket for a score early in the second half to help keep Waubonsee well in front. Each time DuPage would get a little momentum going the Chiefs would respond and build the lead back up to 20 points or more. A great pass by Donovan Brown in transition led to an easy lay-in for Doss and a 62-42 lead five minutes into the half. Waubonsee grabbed its biggest lead to that point when Perez scored twice on short shots in the lane to make it 71-46 with 11 minutes left.
Nachere Abdul-Rasheed then scored on a power move to the basket to extend the lead to 27 points with eight minutes to go. Perez continued with a hot hand as he buried a three-pointer from the top of the key and scored in transition a moment later to push the lead to 82-49 with seven minutes still on the clock. The Chiefs still led by 30 points with four minutes to go as Waubonsee head coach Lance Robinson emptied his bench. Jermaine Theodore connected on a shot from beyond the arc and Dimetris Gayden tallied a put back basket to close out the scoring for Waubonsee.
Perez registered 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead all scorers. Boyd tallied 16 points and grabbed five boards, while Zachariah Hayslett finished with 13 points and six assists. Fuzak added 12 points and six rebounds, Doss booked 10 points and Brown recorded nine points, snagged seven rebounds and dished out five assists. The Chiefs owned a 42-20 advantage pertaining to points scored in the paint and a 25-4 edge in fast break points for the game. Waubonsee is in action again this coming Tuesday, November 14 when Joliet Junior College comes to Sugar Grove. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. in Erickson Hall Gymnasium, with the men's contest between the Chiefs and Wolves following at 7:30 p.m.