East Peoria, Ill.---Brandon Bell, Zach Lewkowski, and Jacquan Binion all scored in double digits to help push the ICC men's basketball team to a hard fought 73-66 victory over John Wood on Saturday afternoon. The win avenged an earlier 86-74 loss to the Blazers and moved the Cougars' record to 10-16 overall and 3-7 in the M-WAC.
Most of the scoring came from inside the arc in this one as both teams struggled from the three-point line making this a tough old-styled paint game as the Cougars ground out the first half to take a 36-31 halftime lead.
ICC maintained their defensive intensity, which led to a wide open dunk for Koran Johnson as the teams traded buckets in the second half. However it was the Cougars who made more plays down the stretch to seal the win, going 13-16 from the free throw line, including a 4-5 effort from Kyle Hawthorne. ICC shot 28-69 (41%) for the game while holding the Blazers to 31% (19-61) to get the win.
Brandon Bell had all of his 12 points in the second half including two huge three pointers, while Lewkowski had 11 points and Binion added 10 points.
Stat Leaders
Brandon Bell | 12 pts
Zach Lewkowski | 11 pts
Jacquan Binion |10 pts, 5 asts
Lavell McIntosh | 8 reb
Sophomore Day
Before the game, sophomores Kyle Hawthorne, Zach Lewkowski, Jacquan Binion, and Koran Johnson were recognized for their last game at Ramsey Gym and thanked for their dedication to the program.
Next Up: Region 24 Tourney action will begin Wednesday, March 2 with all of the higher seeds hosting first round games in quarterfinal action. The ICC men will play at Danville Area (Danville, IL) on Wednesday for a 7pm game. Official tourney pairings appear below:
2022 Region 24 DII Men's Basketball Tournament Seeding
#1 Parkland
#2 Danville Area
#3 John Wood
#4 Rend Lake
#5 Spoon River
#6 Lincoln Land
#7 Illinois Central
Wednesday, March 2nd Games
#7 Illinois Central at #2 Danville at 7pm
#6 Lincoln Land at #3 John Wood
#5 Spoon River at #4 Rend Lake
#1 Parkland - bye
Semi-finals & the championship game will be at Lincoln Land CC in Springfield on March 5-6.
