By: Fourteen offensive rebounds turned into a 17-3 edge on second chance points for Beloit, giving the Buccaneers just enough to earn a 79-70 win over IC.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – Rebounding provided the critical difference on Wednesday night as Beloit College eked out a 79-70 win over the Illinois College men's basketball team.
Mitchell Patterson led four Blueboys in double-figures with 19 points, but the Buccaneers enjoyed a 38-26 edge on the glass and converted enough of their second chances to get the victory. IC falls to 4-15 (3-11 Midwest Conference) on the season in defeat.
It was a strange kind of shooting night in Sherman Gymnasium for both teams, with each shooting better from outside the arc than inside it, and very nearly better than from the free throw line as well. Each team had absolutely torrid stretches from three-point land, helping create a game that had some large swings in momentum.
The opening minutes of the game belonged to Illinois College. The Blueboys came out sharp and led by four points on four occasions in the first six minutes of the game. But every time IC looked on the verge of opening up a sizable lead, it seemed that Beloit's Steve McAfee had the answer. McAfee came in as the fourth-leading scorer in the MWC and he showed why very quickly. The junior accounted for seven straight Beloit points early on, the last three tying the contest at 16-16 and starting a 13-0 run for the Buccaneers that ended with a 26-16 lead.
Max Stutsman was able to end the run with a three-pointer and the Blueboys battled to be down just seven, 39-32, at halftime.
The Illinois College surge late in the first half made it seem that the game was there for either team to claim, but unfortunately it was the Buccaneers who took the reins. Beloit went on an 11-0 run in the first two-and-a-half minutes of the second half, going on top of IC, 50-32. The lead would stretch to 21 points just a few minutes later.
Despite the large deficit, the shooters on Illinois College showed no hesitation when given a look from distance. Once trailing 57-36, consecutive three-pointers from
Brad Herrmann made it a 59-45 game with 10:49 to play. After another small Beloit push to go back up by 17, the Blueboys reeled off eight straight with Patterson converting a three-point play, followed by a
Brandon Fishburn three-pointer and a Patterson jumper from inside the arc.
After suddenly seeing its lead shrink to single-digits at 65-56, Beloit wisely used a timeout with 6:14 remaining. The move paid off as Rudy Bentley sank back-to-back jumpers and McAfee converted at the rim to cap a 6-0 run that made it 71-56. By that time, only 3:20 remained and the Blueboys didn't have enough time to come all the way back.
Patterson added a team-high four assists to his 19 points for IC on the night.
Cody Hildebrand scored 12 for the Blueboys, while
Tim Schappaugh added 10.
David Bauer came off the bench for 11 points. McAfee ended with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Buccaneers.
Illinois College will try to get back on track this weekend, facing Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. The Blueboys and Vikings will meet on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m.
