(Sugar Grove, IL.) – It was a record-setting night in more ways than one on Thursday evening in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. Waubonsee Community College men's basketball team established four program records in a 131-115 victory over McHenry County College. The win was Waubonsee's 22nd in a row breaking the program mark of 21 consecutive victories set 34 years ago by the 1990-91 team. The 11th ranked Chiefs (22-1, 8-0), leaders of the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (ISCC), also broke the single-game scoring record of 129 points set in 2004 when the Chiefs trounced East-West University 129-75. Waubonsee also broke the program record for points in a half, netting 73 points in the first half to eclipse the mark of 70 set two years ago against Dominican University's Junior Varsity. In addition, the combined total of 246 points between the Chiefs and the Scots (2-21, 0-8) shattered the previous high of 232 points when Moraine Valley Community College edged the Chiefs 118-114 in 2017.
The Chiefs entered the game second nationally among all NJCAA Division II teams with 230 three-point baskets. Waubonsee added 14 more long range buckets to that total shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc in the game. Tied for second nationally in free throw percentage at 76.4 percent, the Chiefs went 23 of 30 (76.7 percent) from the foul line. In the process they increased their total of made free throws to 409 on the season, good for fourth most in the nation. As a team Waubonsee finished the game with 32 assists to increase their per game average to 21.5 tying them for third in the country. The Chiefs also pushed their points-per-game average up to 91.8 to rank 11th nationally in scoring.
At the outset the Chiefs looked to take command on the ISCC's last-place team, grabbing a 5-0 lead on a three-pointer by Zachariah Hayslett. McHenry pulled even at 7-all before Tim Taiwo buried a three from the right wing. A short time later Christian Meeks scored on a driving, left-handed lay-up to give the Chiefs a 15-11 lead. Pat Robinson then nailed a triple as Waubonsee built a seven-point lead. The Scots clawed their way back to within a point at 25-24 after seven and a half minutes of action. The Chiefs responded with treys by Tylon Tolliver, Malik Petty and Jermaine Theodore to stay in front 36-32 midway through the first half.
Waubonsee's second unit then extended the lead when McHenry's Caeden Myers missed a breakaway two-handed dunk attempt and 6"8" center Miles Graham picked up his third foul second later. Again, the Scots battled back to get within 41-38 with seven minutes to go until halftime. Chiefs' head coach Lance Robinson then put his starters back in looking to gain some separation on the scoreboard. Two minutes later it paid off as Waubonsee put together a 6-0 run in less than a 30-second span, punctuated by a vicious two-handed slam by Meeks in transition. The Chiefs built their lead up to 13 points and maintained a double-digit lead until the final minute of the half. Hayslett then booked a three from the left corner that bounded high off the rim and then settled into the basket, followed by a triple from the opposite corner by Petty to put the Chiefs in front 70-54 with a minute left in the half. Waubonsee then added three free throws in the final seconds of the period to eclipse the school record of 70 points in a half. The half ended with the Chiefs ahead 73-56 partially on the strength of their bench outscoring the Scots 22-6.
A 9-2 run by McHenry to start the second half cut Waubonsee's lead down to 75-65. The Chiefs responded with a 12-4 run highlighted by a three from the top of the key by Toliver. The Scots were able to trim the deficit back down to single digits at 89-80 with 13 mins left. Two minutes later the lead was back up to 15 at 99-84 as the midway point of the second half approached. Waubonsee then reached the century mark with 9:45 to go on a free throw by Robinson. Moments later Theodore threw down a two-handed jam to put the Chiefs up by 20 points at 108-88. McHenry cut the lead to 14 points on a couple of occasions but that was as close as they would get. The Chiefs reached 125 points on a short jumper by Toliver with two and half minutes remaining as they crept up on the single-game program record for points. A nice dish off by James Parker to Dimetris Gayden for a lay-in with just under a minute to go tied the Waubonsee record. Seconds later Parker scored on a one-handed floater in the lane to set a new Chiefs' mark for points in a game.
Waubonsee had six players reach double figures in scoring and nearly had two others as well. Meeks led the Chiefs with 24 points to go along with six rebounds. Toliver came off the bench to book 22 points and grab five boards. Hayslett tallied 20 points, while Petty added 13 points, six rebounds and four assists. Robinson also contributed 13 points and handed out three assists, and Theordore completed Waubonsee's sextuplet of double-digit scorers with 11 points off the bench. Point guard Aboubacar Sidibe added nine points and dished out eight assists, Taiwo also chipped in with nine points, six assists and five boards, and Parker finished with seven points, six assists and three steals to help the Chiefs' bench out score McHenry's reserves 56-18 for the game. Kijuan Strickland paced McHenry with 26 points, while Milachi Barrett added 24 points and Myers tallied 23 points in a losing effort.
Waubonsee is in action again on Tuesday, February 4 when they host Oakton Community College beginning at 7:15 p.m. The women's contest is scheduled to start at 5:15 p.m. that evening. The Chiefs then go on the road for three straight games at Elgin Community College, Moraine Valley Community College and the College of Lake County before returning home on Saturday, February 15 to take on Wright College from Chicago.