JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College men's basketball team posted an 83-71 victory over Simpson to win the championship game of the Bill Merris Invitational on Saturday at Sherman Gymnasium.
IC is now 2-0 on the season, while the Storm moved to 1-1.
IC 83 Simpson 71
IC jumped out to a nine-point lead in the early stages of the contest before Simpson cut it to 20-18 midway through the first period. The IC lead grew to as much as 11 at 33-22 with 5:34 to go, but again, the Storm answered, and the Blueboys took a 37-34 advantage into intermission.
The Blueboys continued to lead early in the second period before Simpson tied it at 50 with 11:56 to go, but IC then pushed the lead up to 10 (70-60) with 4:18 remaining. The lead continued to grow as IC enjoyed its largest advantage of the contest, 78-65, with 1:06 left.
IC was led by
DeShawn Nolan, who poured in 26 points.
Isayah Kloster added 11.
Connor Brown grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for IC, who out-rebounded the Storm 49-26 on the day.
Blue Notes
Both Nolan and Kloster were named to the Bill Merris Invitational All-Tournament team. They were joined by Simpson's Spencer Holley and Cam Henderson, Benedictine's Noah Mason, and Principia's Mikhali Roberts… IC has won 68 of the past 81 (68-13) games.
Up Next
IC will hit the road for the first time in the 2025-26 season when it travels to Bloomington, Ill., for the Jack Sikma Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The Blueboys will open tournament play on Friday against the host, Illinois Wesleyan. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
