By: Four Buccaneer starters reached double-figures in the game, offsetting 29 bench points from Illinois College on the afternoon.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Beloit Buccaneers started the contest with consecutive three-pointers and never looked back, sending the Illinois College men's basketball team to a fourth straight defeat on Saturday afternoon, 76-62. Steve McAfee Jr. led all scorers with 18 points and Andrew Bremner contributed 15 points and 14 rebounds as Beloit upped its record to 6-9 (4-6 Midwest Conference) on the year. IC fell to 4-10 (1-8 MWC).
Illinois College went behind immediately as Beloit won the opening tip and scored on a Mike Gulve three-ball with 10 seconds gone in the game. On the next trip down the court, Gulve again got open and cashed in to make it 6-0 with less than a minute elapsed. The Blueboys got on the board as
Tim Schappaugh drove the lane and banked in a layup. Schappaugh then picked the pocket of Bremner and went coast-to-coast to cut the Beloit lead to 6-4.
The Blueboys stayed in striking distance most of the first half and again trailed by just two points after
Cody Hildebrand knocked down a three-pointer off of a
Sean McDonald pass, making it 26-24 with 5:30 remaining until the break. Beloit closed the half strong however, outscoring Illinois College 16-8 the rest of the way to make it 42-32 at halftime.
The two teams traded baskets to begin the second 20 minutes, but that was followed by a 9-0 burst capped by a highlight-reel dunk by McAfee Jr. in traffic that drew a foul. His free throw to complete the three-point play increased Beloit's lead to 51-34 with 16:35 to play and Jacob Manthe upped the lead to 19 a minute later on a jumper inside.
Three-pointers from
Brad Herrmann and
John Taylor led a comeback attempt from Illinois College, but the Blueboys could get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way. IC ended the game on a 9-0 run, with
Brendan Barlow,
David Bauer,
Tim Parks and
Fischer Tharp getting in on the action.
Hildebrand ended with a team-high 10 points for IC. Herrmann had nine points and
Max Stutsman had eight first-half points. Bauer ended with six points, a team-best six rebounds and three assists.
Illinois College will try to regroup and pick up a road win on Jan. 20 when the Blueboys travel to take on Knox College for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in Galesburg.
