Oglesby, Ill. - "It's time! It's time!" Amariyae Wilson shouted pregame. It was time, indeed. Time for Coach Tony Wysinger's team to start the 2023-2024 season, as they had made the trip north to Oglesby to take on the Illinois Valley Eagles. ICC was able to get a slim lead late, and although the Eagles would chip away on occasion, the Cougars were able to sustain that lead and come away with a 71-53 victory to start the season in the win column. 

Early on, it was perhaps not the most clean version of basketball, as both teams were finding their footing with a new season underway. After all, IVCC only returned one player from 2022-2023, and ICC only has a couple back from 22-23. Alas, the Cougars were able to go to work. Payton Cook chased down an offensive rebound and putback to give ICC a 12-5 lead around the 12:00 mark. 

One element of the Cougars' performance that particularly stuck out on Wednesday was their passing. One play saw nearly no dribbles, passing around the permieter, and an Isaiah Donnell bucket to put ICC ahead 16-8. 

The passing was something that Coach Wysinger was pleased to see came to fruition.

"A goal of ours was extra passes. We wanted to get into the lane and make extra passes."

It would stay around that point for the remainder of the first half, with ICC able to pull ahead somewhat with a 31-19 lead at the break. 

If there were any negatives to pull from the opening 20 minutes, perhaps the defensive side could be mentioned, although 19 points in 20 minutes is nothing to scoff at. That being said, LaColis Ashby Jr. came up with a huge block at the 16:00 mark of the second half, keeping ICC ahead 39-30 at the time. 

There were a couple moments where one could say the Cougars truly began to pull away. Donnell found Emaryon Byrd for a three-pointer with 7:04 to go to give ICC a 56-39 lead. No more than a minute later, Byrd found Azarion Richardson for a bucket and a 60-41 lead with 6:05 to go. 

It was this stretch of timeout-forcing plays that had Coach Wysinger glad to see his team was executing. 

"With as young a team as we have, if their coach has to call timeout three, four, five times, that means we're doing our job."

One of the more 'nail in the coffin' sort of plays saw Richardson find Byrd for a three-point shot and a 65-44 lead, forcing ICC alum and IVCC head coach Chris Herman to call what would be his final timeout. 

The final key play saw another rebound and putback from Cook for a 69-48 lead with just 1:52 to go. 

Coach Herman was quite impressed with what he saw out of the his opponent. 

"I liked the way they shared the basketball, hit the open man. They shot it really well. They've got some good mid-range players. I thought they out-physicaled us." 

Now, ICC has a tough task, heading up and over to Iowa for the Iowa Lakes Classic, which opens up against the hosts, who are 10th in the nation. All that considered, Coach Wysinger thinks this win at least puts his group in the right headspace. 

"Always. These types of wins always help with the buy-in. When the young guys, even the sophomores, see what we've been working on - that's that buy in. Going to Iowa's going to be tough, but we'll take our group over there, and we'll fight against anybody."

After the game, Coach Herman spoke to the importance of continuing this ICC-IVCC series on the men's basketball court. 

"It's always special. My dad was there 20 years, and I think I helped him seven or eight years. I always want to try and beat ICC because my family has such a history there."

ICC INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Emaryon Byrd | 19 points, 5 2's, 2 3's, 3-7 FTs, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl
LaColis Ashby Jr. | 12 points, 6 2's, 9 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl
Azarion Richardson | 11 points, 3 2's, 1 3, 2-2 FTs, 2 ast, 1 stl
Ayden Grant | 6 points, 3 2's, 6 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl
Willie Fragher | 6 points, 1 2, 1 3, 1-2 FTs
Isaiah Donnell | 4 points, 1 2, 2-2 FTs, 7 ast, 4 reb
Payton Cook | 4 points, 2 2's, 9 reb, 1 ast
Amariyae Wilson | 4 points, 2 stl, 1 reb, 1 ast
Jeremiah Tate | 3 points, 1 2, 1-3 FTs, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl
Damuzha Moore | 3 reb
Cody Marcinko | 2 reb

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2023 Iowa Lakes Classic
@ #10 Iowa Lakes Lakers (0-0)
Friday, November 3rd - 7:30 PM
Laker Gymnasium - Estherville, IA
Watch Live (ICCAC Sports Network)