(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team moved its record to 5-0 on Tuesday evening with an 87-56 win over Illinois Institute of Technology's Junior Varsity. Ranked 16th nationally in the most recent NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball poll, the Chiefs (5-0) were relentless on defense early and overwhelmed the visiting Scarlet Hawks. Waubonsee held Illinois Tech to just 15 percent shooting (5 for 32) in the first half on the way to building a big lead and coasting to the victory.
Waubonsee's David Robinson booked the game's first two points a minute into the action. However, it was the only basket for either team in the initial four and a half minutes of the contest. Robinson then tallied a three-point play and a lay-up to give the Chiefs a 7-0 lead after five minutes of play. The Scarlet Hawks finally got on the board moments later, but Waubonsee's tenacious defense continued to cause havoc. Robinson then buried another basket and a three-pointer from the left corner to account for all of the Chiefs' points as they built a 12-2 lead. By the time another Chiefs' player finally dented the scoring column the lead was up to 15-4 as the midway point of the half approached.
A block by Donovan Taylor on defense sparked a Chiefs' fast break that resulted in a lay-in for Taylor seconds later as the lead ballooned to 24-6. Robinson buried another trey from the left corner to make it 31-10 with six minutes to go until halftime. Two minutes later Nahcere Abdur-Rasheed made a steal and hammered a one-handed breakaway slam to extend the lead to 34-12. A driving lay-up by Donovan Brown and a long, pull-up three-pointer by Reece Boyd pushed the lead to 43-12 with a minute remaining until the intermission. Waubonsee eventually carried a commanding 45-14 lead into the locker room.
The Scarlet Hawks' Jason Pilapil scored the first basket of the second half as Illinois Tech outscored the Chiefs 13-6 over the first seven minutes. After a Waubonsee timeout the Chiefs slowly began to get back on track offensively. A long three by Zachariah Hayslett built the lead back up to 30 points midway through the second period. A two-on-one fast break finished off with a lay-in by Aboubacar Sidibe increased the lead to 70-37 with seven minutes left in the game. A triple by Sidibe with four minutes left then extended the lead to 82-46 as coach Lance Robinson emptied his bench. A high-arching triple from the top of the key by Dimetrius Butler capped off the scoring for Waubonsee as the Scarlet Hawks closed out the game on a quick 4-0 run.
Robinson, who registered all 15 of his points in the first half, helped spark Waubonsee offense early on. Brown also tallied 15 points to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Hayslett added 13 points and three assists, while Sidibe finished with 11 points. Taylor contributed nine points, Boyd snagged six rebounds and Fernando Perez handed out three assists for the Chiefs. For the game Waubonsee out rebounded the Scarlet Hawks 51-34, with nine different Chiefs recording four or more boards. All 15 Waubonsee players in uniform saw action in the end.
The Chiefs are in action again on Wednesday, November 29 when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for their first road contest of the season. Waubonsee is set to play nationally ranked Milwaukee Area (WI) Technical College at Alverno College's Reiman Gymnasium beginning at 8:00 p.m. (CDT). Waubonsee's women tipoff that same evening against the Storm at 6:00 p.m. The Chiefs' next home game is not until Tuesday, December 5 when they host Kishwaukee College beginning at 7:30 p.m. The women's game between the Kougars and Chiefs is slated to start at 5:30 p.m. in Waubonsee's Erickson Hall Gymnasium.
(Nahcere Abdur-Rasheed with a breakaway slam)
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