JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team fell to Carroll University, 67-53, in the championship game of the Bill Merris Tournament on Saturday evening. The Pioneers (4-0) led nearly wire-to-wire to get the win and sent the Blueboys to 2-2 overall on the season.
The Pioneers came out strong and took a 10-2 lead on Illinois College, but the Blueboys rallied with an 8-0 run capped by a
Jaxson Dian three-pointer to tie the game at 10-10. Carroll responded with a 7-0 run of its own and eventually led by 13 points in the first half before heading to the break with a 35-28 lead.
The Blueboys scored the first two baskets of the second half to make it 35-32 and had multiple opportunities to tie the game up, but came up empty each time. Eventually the Carroll offense got rolling and IC went ice-cold much of the second half. The Pioneers led by nearly 20 in the final minutes before the Blueboys went on the attack and got to the line repeatedly in the final minutes to cut into deficit.
Jake Mazrimas and
Tre Rogers were each named all-tournament selections for the Blueboys. Each had 14 points on the afternoon.
Next up for IC is an exhibition game at NCAA Division II opponent University of Missouri-St. Louis on Tuesday night. After that, the Blueboys are home to face Millikin University on Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.
