(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team opened play in the 2024 Chiefs' Classic Invitational on Friday evening in Erickson Hall Gymnasium with an 85-76 victory over Sandburg College from Galesburg. A big run by the Chiefs (4-1) late in the first half forced the Chargers (4-4) to play catch up the rest of the way and Waubonsee held on for its' fourth straight victory. The second game of the evening featured Joliet Junior College taking on undefeated Ancilla (IN.) College. The Chargers, from Plymouth, Indiana, rallied from an early deficit and downed the Wolves 90-80 to improve to 7-0 overall on the season.
In the opening minute Sandburg's Demarion Honaker nailed a three-pointer from the left corner just before the buzzer on the 30-second shot clock sounded, with the ball skimming off the side of the back board before dropping through the hoop. The Chargers connected on another triple before Chiefs' head coach Lance Robinson called timeout. His crew responded immediately afterwards as Zachariah Hayslett drained three-pointers on consecutive trips down the court to knot the score at 6-all after two minutes of play. The teams basically traded baskets over the next several minutes before Waubonsee grabbed an 18-14 lead on a bucket by point guard Aboubacar Sidibe after eight minutes of action. A fast break lay-in by Dimetris Gayden staked the Chiefs to a 25-19 lead midway through the first half.
A minute later Dimetrius Butler buried a high arching triple from the left wing to make it 28-21 prompting a timeout by Sandburg head coach Ryan Twaddle. The Chargers then went on a 10-3 run to pull even at 31 with six minutes remaining until halftime. Moments later Pat Robinson got the ball to Hayslett as he streaked down the lane, with the sophomore completing a three-point play to put Waubonsee in front 36-34 as the lead continued to change hands. The Chiefs built their lead up seven points again and this time didn't let the Chargers immediately erase the deficit. Robinson powered his way to the rim for a three-point play to extend the lead to double digits with two minutes to go. Waubonsee closed out the half with a 17-3 run taking a 53-39 lead into the locker room as Hayslett scored in the final seconds to give him 14 first half points. The half featured seven ties and 10 lead changes with Sandburg shooting 52 percent from the field while Waubonsee was even better at 62 percent shooting from the floor.
Both teams turned up the defensive pressure to start the second half with Waubonsee out scoring Sandburg just 4-3 through the initial five minutes of play. Sparked primarily by their defense, the Chiefs maintained at least a double-digit lead until Honaker made the second of two free throws to cut the deficit to 60-51 with 12 minutes left in the game. The Chargers got Waubonsee's lead down to eight points on several occasions, but the Chiefs answered with an equalizing basket each time to maintain a 10-point cushion. Waubonsee led 70-60 with seven minutes to go when James Parker converted a pair of free throws to extend the lead once more. The Chiefs built the lead up to 15 points before Sandburg chipped away pulling within 75-68 with three minutes remaining. The Chargers then lived up to their nickname by continuing to resiliently keep charging ahead. A Sandburg three-pointer trimmed it to six points before a turnover gave the Chargers the ball back again. A three-point play by Sandburg's Ethan Price suddenly got the visitors within three at 77-74 with two minutes left. Sandburg then got within a point before Tylon Toliver drilled a huge trey from the left wing with 1:20 to go. Waubonsee then forced a turnover and Tim Taiwo scored on a drive to the rim with 42 ticks on the clock to give Waubonsee an 82-76 lead. A pair of free throws extended the lead back up to eight points as Waubonsee held off Sandburg down the stretch.
Robinson led a balanced Chiefs' offense by booking 18 points and registering two steals. Waubonsee had four more players reach double figures as well with Hayslett and Taiwo finishing with 14 points each. Toliver added 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Malik Petty chipped in with a dozen points. The Chiefs' bench outscored the Chargers' reserves 22-11 and the home team also made 28 of 34 free throw attempts. Waubonsee is set to play Ancilla tomorrow, Saturday, November 23 beginning at 2:00 p.m. The Chiefs and Chargers both received votes in the latest NJCAA Division II Men's Basketball national poll. Sandburg will battle Joliet (4-3) beforehand starting at noon in Erickson Hall Gymnasium.
