East Peoria, IL-- Zach Lewkowski and Tony Mabon, Jr. each scored 15 points to help lead the ICC men's basketball team to a 72-66 victory over #1 Kirkwood on Tuesday night at Ramsey Gym.  Lewkowski shot 5-9 from the field, including 2-4 from three-point range while Mabon Jr. hit on 7-11 field goals to help give ICC the win.  Point guard Jacquan Binion had a solid floor game as he dished out eight assists while scoring seven points.  

ICC came out playing extremely hard on the defensive end but Kirkwood held an early 17-13 lead midway through the first half.  The Cougars' hard work eventually paid off as they went on a 15-7 run to grab the lead at 29-25 at the 4:31 mark.  However, Kirkwood answered with a run of their own and looked like they would take a 34-33 lead into intermission but Binion nailed a three-pointer from the right wing just before the halftime buzzer to give the Cougars a 36-34 advantage.  Halftime stats showed the Cougars shooting 57% from three-point range, which really helped their cause.  

ICC opened the half with hard drives to the basket to gain a 46-38 lead at the 14:23 mark.  The Cougars extended that to 51-37 and held a double-digit lead most of the way until Kirkwood made a late run to cut it to a three point game, but the hosts held off Kirkwood with clutch free throws and a drawn charge. 

Stat Leaders
Zach Lewkowski-- 15 pts, 2 stls
Tony Mabon, Jr.-- 15 pts, 3 asts
Jacquan Binion-- 7 pts, 8 asts
Kyle Hawthorne-- 5 reb

Next up: The Cougars, now 5-2, will return to play a rematch game at Olivet Nazarene JV on Thursday, December 2nd at McHie Arena in Bourbonnais.  ICC won the first meeting, 71-62 on November 8 in East Peoria.