East Peoria, Ill. - The ICC men's basketball team (12-18, 4-7) held sophomore day and its final regular season game on Saturday afternoon at Ramsey Gym. The Cougars went up against the John Wood Blazers (15-15, 3-8). ICC used a strong shooting performance to win their final home game, 103-96, marking ICC's first time over the century mark. The Cougars shot 53% from the field and 72% from behind the arc in the win.
After the sophomore day ceremony pregame, ICC came out firing on all cylinders. They started the game on a 16-0 run, causing a John Wood timeout with just three minutes of play having been completed. John Wood did pick up the pace, matching ICC for the next seven minutes and making it 25-12 at the midway point of the half. The Cougars got back in transition, going on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 32-12. The Blazers weren't done, though. They went on their own 8-0 run to end the half, with ICC leading 49-35 at the break.
The Blazers started the second half with urgency and cut the lead down to just four points with 15 minutes remaining (57-53). John Wood hit a trey with 12 minutes left to tie the game at 63-63. The Cougars responded after a timeout by regaining the lead. It was a close contest the rest of the way, with a combined 49 free throw attempts in the second half. ICC was able to maintain the lead the rest of the way by shooting 80% from the charity stripe in the second half.
STATISTICAL LEADERS
LaColis Ashby Jr. | 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
Joshua Shannon | 18 points, 5-5 3-Pointers
Courtland Soll | 13 points, 9 assists
Kyle Belgrave II | 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Matt Williams | 9 points, 8 rebounds
REGION 24 TOURNAMENT
Quarterfinals (Wednesday, March 8th)
#5 John Wood at #4 Spoon River
#7 ICC COUGARS at #2 Rend Lake
#6 Lincoln Land at #3 Parkland
Semifinals (Saturday, March 11th - @ Parkland)
#1 Danville Area vs. JWCC/SRC Winner
RLC/ICC Winner vs. PC/LLCC Winner
Championship (Sunday, March 12th - @ Parkland)
2:00 PM Tipoff
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2023 Region 24 Tournament Quarterfinal
@ Rend Lake Warriors (9-19)
Wednesday, March 8th - 3:00 PM Tipoff
@ Waugh Gym - Ina, Ill.
WATCH LIVE (YouTube)
