East Peoria, Ill. - The ICC men's basketball team (9-16, 1-6) wrapped up a three-game home stand on Saturday afternoon by hosting the Lincoln Land Loggers at Ramsey Gym. The game did not get off to a super-high scoring start, with ICC holding onto a slim five-point lead early in the first half. For that matter, most of the first 20 minutes were nip-and-tuck. That was, until ICC finally began to pull away in the second half. The Cougars nearly led by 20, and would secure a 75-61 home win over the Loggers to end a winless start to the MWAC season. 

The Cougars started the game up 5-0, capped by a trey from Joshua Shannon with just about a minute off the clock. The Loggers would respond well, taking the lead right back at 8-7. From there, it was a tale of lead changes for most of the first half. Neither team held a multiple possession lead until Kyle Belgrave II knocked one in from downtown to put the Cougars ahead 20-16 just beyond the midway mark of the first half. 

ICC was making some turnovers and the Loggers were converting on the opportunities to keep it fairly close. Sensing that same vibe, coach Tony Wysinger called time with his squad leading 28-21 with just under two minutes left in the first half. The point spread, however, would stay pat. A bucket for Lincoln Land in the paint, then a free throw from ICC's Taylor Smith put the Cougars ahead 29-23 at the break. 

Come time for the second half, each time found themselves trading buckets, with neither able to truly grab momentum. An off-balance jumper from Courtland Soll at the 15:30 mark put ICC ahead 37-29. Both teams nearly went a full minute without scoring, before Lavell McIntosh was relentless on the boards, picking up a pair of offensive rebounds and eventually a putback to give ICC a 10-point lead at 39-29. 

Around the 8:00 mark of the second half, Keaundre Cooper pulled down a defensive rebound, and with the Cougars having numbers on the fast break, threaded the needle to Kyle Belgrave II for an emphatic dunk that put ICC ahead 51-42. A free throw trip from Soll gave ICC an 11-point lead with 7:27 go, a lead that not only would not relinquish, but even expand on. LaColis Ashby Jr. found Soll who handed it off to Belgrave for another dunk, this one giving ICC would would be its largest lead by game's end at 17 points (61-44). All that was left was holding on for roughly another five minutes. 

And hold on they would. Javion Brewer found his way through the lane for a finger roll and give ICC it's final point total of 75. 

The win marks ICC's first within MWAC play, as they were (0-6) before Saturday. 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kyle Belgrave II | 17 points, 9 rebounds
Courtland Soll | 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Lavell McIntosh | 8 points, 6 rebounds
Keaundre Cooper | 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Matt Williams | 8 points, 3 rebounds

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Southeastern Iowa Blackhawks (19-8)
Wednesday, February 22nd - 7:00 PM
@ Loren Walker Arena - West Burlington, Iowa
*No Live Stream Link found on SE IA Website*