JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team gave an amped-up Sherman Gymnasium crowd something to cheer for on Saturday night, turning a close game into a comfortable victory by the end of a 96-86 decision over Blackburn College. The win gave IC the 2-0 weekend at the Bill Merris Classic and improved the Blueboys to 2-2 on the year.
At the conclusion of play on Saturday,
Tim Parks and
Mason Speer were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Merris Classic. Speer poured in a game-high 29 points, 23 in the second half, to lift IC to the win. Parks supplied the Blueboys with a major lift off the bench, scoring 21 on the night.
Blackburn came out with a lot of energy early on, but Illinois College managed to take an 11-7 lead after falling behind, 4-0. A big edge on the glass for the Beavers began to pay dividends as the half went along, however, helping Blackburn begin to build a lead. A Raushaun Amos three-pointer, one of seven in the first half from Blackburn, gave the visitors its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 30-22 with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Beavers would then carry a 42-36 lead into the locker rooms.
A pair of three-balls from Blackburn to start the second half gave the Beavers their largest lead at 48-38 with just over 18 minutes to play. The lead was still ten, 51-41, as the clock rolled under 15 minutes to play when Illinois College began its comeback. Parks scored five straight for the Blueboys to cut the deficit in half. Amos answered with one free throw, but a nice inbounds play resulted in a short jumper by
Sean McDonald off the feed from Speer to cut it to four, 52-48.
After a foul and three free throws from Karson Hayes extended Blackburn's lead back to six, 59-53, Illinois College went on a 7-0 run to take its first lead since very early on. Speer had five points in the run, including the go-ahead free throws. The Beavers wouldn't go away easily, hitting three straight three-pointers around the nine-minute mark to stay out in front, 69-66, but the Blueboys battled to stay in it, tying it at 69 and again at 72-72 on a three-point play from
Trae Robinson III.
With under five minutes left and the game knotted at 74-74,
Riley Mehrens canned a triple to give the Blueboys the 77-74 edge. Duncan King scored on the other end at the rim, making it 77-76, but Blackburn would not be able to catch Illinois College from there. McDonald responded to King's layup with a pair at the line and both Speer and Parks followed that with three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The bulge grew to 89-76 with 1:13 to play and Illinois College hung on despite a sloppy, whistle-filled finish.
Along with his 29 points, Speer distributed 11 assists and nearly recorded a triple-double, ending with eight rebounds. Parks was one of four others in double-figures on the night. Robinson III ended with 14, McDonald closed with 13 and Mehrens tacked on 11.
Illinois College ventures out to play Lincoln Christian University on Nov. 20. Tip-off will follow the women's game at approximately 7 p.m.
