By: Illinois College went more than nine minutes without a point at the end of the first half, giving the Pioneers a big lead that they held onto until the end in a 69-61 win.
Box Score JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – A more than nine-minute drought in the late stages of the first half proved too much to overcome for the Illinois College men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in Sherman Gymnasium against the Carroll Pioneers. The Blueboys went to the locker room down by 14 and though they rallied in the second half, Carroll was able to hold on to get the win. IC moves to 4-7 (1-5 Midwest Conference) while the Pioneers improve to 9-1 (5-0 MWC).
The first 11 minutes of the contest were evenly-played and the Blueboys responded from a three-point deficit at 13-10 to take a 15-13 lead after two free throws from
Tim Schappaugh and a three-pointer from
Max Stutsman with 11:39 to play in the first half. Carroll came right back with a 6-0 run, attacking the paint with two layups and two free throws for a 19-15 advantage.
Illinois College sliced Carroll's lead to two after
David Bauer fed
Cody Hildebrand down low on an inbounds play to make it 19-17 with 9:12 remaining before halftime, but the Blueboys wouldn't score again until two seconds remained in the half. In that time, the Pioneers used a 13-0 run to take a 32-17 lead before Schappaugh made one of two at the line to make it a 32-18 game at the break.
Coming out in the second half, Illinois College showed immediately that the game would tighten up. Schappaugh drove hard to the rim and made two free throws on the opening possession and a suddenly cold Carroll offense went almost four minutes into the second half before making a basket. During that stretch, Hildebrand knocked in a jumper and Stutsman made a free throw to cut it to a 32-23 deficit.
Picking its offensive rhythm back up, Carroll jumped ahead 52-35 – its largest lead of the game – with 8:59 to play, until Bauer sparked the Blueboys with a hustle rebound on the offensive end and two free throws to kickstart a 13-0 run that brought Illinois College back within four. Following Bauer's free throws, a pair of turnovers led to back-to-back baskets by Hildebrand and Bauer made two more at the line after a missed Carroll three-pointer.
Providing a spark from the bench,
Mason Speer delivered an on-the-money no-look pass to Hildebrand for a three-pointer, which was followed by a putback basket from Stutsman to make it 52-48. Kyle Keranan finally got Carroll back on the board with a short jumper, but the Pioneers were slow to get back on defense and Speer quickly got IC into its transition game, setting up
Mitchell Patterson for a dunk that made it 54-50 with less than five minutes to play.
A three-pointer from Tanner Zaeske was answered by one from Stutsman to leave the game at 57-53 as the clock rolled under four minutes, but two momentum-changing three-point plays by Carroll's Marcus Johnson extended the lead back to 65-55 with one minute left. Speer quickly made a three-pointer to get the Carroll lead back to seven, but there wasn't enough time left for IC to get any closer in the final minute.
Hildebrand ended the game with 17 points to take game-high scoring honors for Illinois College. Stutsman added 13 points and a team-best five rebounds. Bauer chipped in nine points off the bench and Speer set two career highs early on in his time at IC with six points as well as four assists.
Illinois College will trek north for a midweek contest with Monmouth College on Jan. 6. The Blueboys and Scots will get underway at 5 p.m.
