Box Score
The Illinois College men's basketball team rallied all the way back from a 15-point deficit in the second half but a late surge from the University of Dubuque sent the Blueboys to a second-place finish at the 14th annual Bill Merris Tournament on Saturday. Dubuque won 66-60.
Nathan Kohler scored 15 points to pace the Blueboys.
Spencer Campbell and
Brandon Berry added 10 and 12 points, respectively.
Isaac Grapperhaus chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.
Dubuque led 29-19 at halftime and extended its lead to 15 points with a layup from Derek Griffin early in the second half. IC rallied back to take a one-point lead, however, as a 3-pointer from Grapperhaus capped a 16-0 run. Dubuque rebuilt a 10-point lead shortly after and Illinois College never came closer than two points from the lead the rest of the way.
The Blueboys fell to 1-1 with the loss as Dubuque claimed the Bill Merris Tournament title. Benedictine University took third place thanks to a 73-63 win over Blackburn College in the early game.
Illinois College's Kohler, Campbell and Grapperhaus were named to the all-tournament team along with Dubuque's Griffin and Brandon Ferguson. Blackburn's Jon Lowry and Benedictine's Michael Woolf were also selected to the all-tournament team. Dubuque's Chris Frazier was named Tournament MVP.
