East Peoria, Ill.---The ICC men's basketball team mounted a huge rally in the second half against Illinois Wesleyan JV but came up just short, falling 95-94 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon in Ramsey Gym.  After trailing by double digits for three-fourths of the game, the Cougars had a chance to tie near the end but the Titans did just enough to hang on to get the victory.

IWU JV took the lead early and controlled the first half on their way to a 51-37 halftime lead.  They increased their advantage to nearly 20 points with nine minutes to play when the Cougars picked it up on both ends of the floor to chip away at the deficit.  ICC had a chance to tie on an old-fashioned three-point play but missed the free throw and IWU responded with a layup to go up 95-92. 

ICC called time out and set up a play for a three-point shot but was unable to get an open look so Jacquan Binion took the ball to the basket and scored on a layup with 2.3 seconds with ICC trailing 95-94.  IWU inbounded the ball and ICC tried for a steal or foul, but the Titans dribbled out the clock, leading to the final score.

The game featured hot shooting, as ICC went 38-76 (50%) on total field goals and 8-20 (40%) from three-point range while IWU JV shot 33-53 (62%) from the field and 10-19 (53%) from three-point land.  The Cougars forced 27 turnovers and swiped 15 steals but the Titans made up those possessions with a 36-22 rebounding edge and 19-25 (76%) effort from the free throw line.

Leaders:
Tony Mabon, Jr. 17 pts, 3 asts
Zach Lewkowski 17 pts
Lavell McIntosh 15 pts, 5 reb
Kyle Hawthorne 14 pts
Jacquan Binion 13 pts, 3 asts
Quentin Edmonds-Long 11 pts
Deylon Johnson 5 reb, 4 stls
Koran Johnson 5 reb, 2 pts

Next up:  The Cougars, now 8-9 overall, will return to action on Monday, Jan. 31 as they host Spoon River at 7pm in Ramsey Gym.  Live-stream will be on the ICC Athletics' YouTube Channel.