(Sugar Grove, IL) – Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team routed visiting Oakton Community College 105-59 on Thursday evening in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. The 14th ranked Chiefs (24-3, 10-1) remained on top of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC) standings by going on a 24-0 run to start the second half on the way to blowing out the Owls (2-26, 1-11). It was the second straight lopsided victory for the Chiefs who downed Elgin Community College 125-81 two nights ago on the Spartans' court.
Waubonsee had three reserve players in the starting lineup against the Owls, who entered the evening in last place in the ISCC standings. Oakton won the opening tip and T.J. Bechtold nailed a high-arching three-pointer seconds later to get the scoring started. The visitors jumped out to a 10-2 lead early on before head coach Lance Robinson put his regular starters all on the floor together. It immediately paid dividends as David Robinson completed a three-point play to cut the deficit to three points. Oakton responded and took a 15-7 lead highlighted by a nearly identical high-arching triple again by Bechtold. After eight minutes of play the Owls still held a 22-16 lead prompting Robinson to call timeout.
Waubonsee then switched to a full-court press and quickly took the lead as the Chiefs made three steals and Aboubacar Sidibe scored four straight baskets. Oakton head coach Mick Reuter called two timeouts to try and stop the Chiefs momentum, but it did not work. After the second break in the action Duane Doss made a steal and breakaway lay-up, and Fernando Perez drilled a three-pointer from the left corner to cap off a 13-0 Waubonsee run and make it 29-22 midway through the first half. The Chiefs extended their lead to 43-27 four minutes later. A one-handed, tomahawk slam by Oakton's Devin Malone momentarily gave the Owls something to get excited about. However, Waubonsee closed out the first half on an 14-4 run to secure a 57-38 lead at the break.
The Chiefs then turned the game into a rout by starting the second half on a 24-0 run over the first nine minutes to suddenly build their lead to 43 points. A long triple by Donovan Brown helped Waubonsee maintain a 40-plus point advantage heading down the stretch. Another trey, this time by Donovan Taylor, extended the lead to 93-46 with six minutes to go. A breakaway one-handed slam by Nahcere Abdur-Rasheed and a driving lay-in by Dimetrius Butler got the Chiefs over the century mark with two and a half minutes left.
For the game the Chiefs registered a dozen steals, out rebounded the Owls 44-30 and made 23 of 24 free throws (96 percent) for the game. Sidibe led Waubonsee with 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made three steals. Robinson netted 18 points, snagged six boards and handed out three assists. Brown booked 15 points, dished out three assists and hauled down five rebounds. Taylor chipped in with 13 points, Perez added 12 points and Doss contributed eight points, four assists and four steals.
Waubonsee is on the road for two games next week before returning home for its regular season finale on Saturday, February 24, when they host McHenry County College starting at 3:00 p.m.. The Scots (18-8, 8-2) are currently in second place in the ISCC standings and handed the Chiefs their only loss in conference play back on February 1 in Crystal Lake. The women's contest that afternoon is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.