Ina, Ill. - 29 games later, ICC men's basketball (11-18) will finally tip off postseason play on Wednesday afternoon, when they travel to Waugh Gym to battle the Rend Lake Warriors (9-19) in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2023 Region 24 Tournament. 

HOW THEY MATCH UP
The Cougars and Warriors split the regular season series, with each team winning on their respective home courts: Rend Lake 82-75 in Ina and ICC 74-56 in East Peoria. 

The meeting in Ina opened the 2022-23 regular season for the Cougars. It was a game that saw great offensive production, with four players in double figures. That included two double-doubles from Kyle Belgrave II (17 points, 13 rebounds) and Lavell McIntosh (13 points, 10 rebounds). Realistically, it was a winnable game for ICC. In fact, they got to the point where they needed to foul, which the Warriors capitalized on, otherwise, a win may have been in the cards. 

The meeting in East Peoria would turn out to be ICC's widest margin of victory within Region 24 play (18 points). The win was bigger than a box score, however, as it would be a win that snapped the Cougars' seven-game losing streak they had at the time. ICC never trailed in the win. LaColis Ashby Jr. had a 20-point / 7-rebound game, while Matt Williams (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Lavell McIntosh (11 points, 8 rebounds) also scored in double figures. 

HOW THE REGION GOT HERE
It was quite the hotly contested standings situation, with almost the entirety of the region deadlocked, including just two games separating the 2-7 seeds, while NJCAA National Tournament host Danville Area kept a substantial lead. 

1st | Danville Area | (11-1)
2nd | Rend Lake | (6-6)
3rd | Parkland | (6-6)
4th | Spoon River | (5-7)
5th | John Wood | (5-7)
6th | Lincoln Land | (5-7)
7th | ICC COUGARS | (4-8)

REGION TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, March 8th
#7 ICC COUGARS at #2 Rend Lake - 3:00 PM
#5 John Wood at #4 Spoon River - 6:00 PM
#6 Lincoln Land at #3 Parkland - 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 11th (@ Parkland)
#1 Danville Area vs. Spoon River/John Wood Winner - 1:00 PM
Rend Lake/ICC Winner vs. Parkland/Lincoln Land Winner - 3:00 PM

Sunday, March 12th (@ Parkland)
Region 24 Men's Basketball Championship Game - 2:00 PM

HOW TO WATCH THE GAME
ICC and Rend Lake tips off at 3:00 PM on Wednesday from Waugh Gym in Ina. The game can be viewed live on the Rend Lake College YouTube channel by clicking HERE.