Danville, IL - The Illinois Central College Men's Basketball team (0-1, 0-0), receiving votes in the preseason national rankings, made the trek eastward to a familiar site in Danville Area's Mary Miller Gym, but to partake in a neutral classic, where they started the 2024-25 campaign off with #21 Kalamazoo Valley (1-0), with the opposing Cougars taking an 83-64 victory after surging ahead in the second half. 

FIRST HALF RECAP
In the infancy of the game, Kalamazoo Valley was able to control the tempo, but ICC was still getting opportunities. The combination of Isaiah Payne to Azarion Richardson was a popular selection at the start, with the duo combining for each of ICC's first two field goals. 

Payne knocked down a trey from the key off a pass from the interior by way of Idris Thomas to give ICC a 17-14 lead with 7:40 to go in the first half. 

Thomas would come up big on the other end of the floor as well, with a high enough leap on a block attempt to secure a jump ball as well and maintain a 19-14 lead with 6:45 until the break. 

ICC would take their largest lead of the game at 22-16 on a pair of Thomas free throws. 

Kalamazoo Valley roared back to what wound up a crucial 7-0 run just before half to take a 23-22 lead, which would eventually become a lead they would not surrender. 

ICC would trail 32-26 going into halftime, adding up to a 16-4 run by the opposition since ICC's aforementioned six-point advantage. 

SECOND HALF RECAP
Out of the locker room, ICC was able to keep it close still. Payne, who'd briefly left the game with a minor setback to the right leg, was back in within a couple minutes and was effective almost instantly, able to lob it up to Payton Cook for a slam dunk and a mere 50-47 deficit with still 10:47 left to play. 

Alas, Kalamazoo Valley made another run, this one 12-4 to go up by 11 points (62-51) with 7:45 remaining. Kalamazoo Valley's nine-point lead before that basket would be the last time the game would be within single digits. 

The margin would remain fairly similar, but it would be around the four-minute mark of the second half that it truly felt like Kalamazoo Valley had begun to pull the momentum away. 

The game would get to its first 20-point margin with a baseline reverse layup to give Kalamazoo Valley an 83-62 lead with 23.2 seconds left. 

An ICC layup with 1.8 seconds left would cut the final score to just under the 20-point threshold. 

UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS
Starting Lineup
#5 | Azarion Richardson | 13 points, 4-4 free throws, 1 assist
#11 | Michael Womer | 2 points, 4 rebounds
#22 | Isaiah Payne | 8 points, 3 assists
#24 | Idris Thomas | 6 points, 2 assists
#34 | Payton Cook | 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists

Substitutions
#0 | Rickey Woods III | 4 points, 2 rebounds
#3 | RJ Davitz | 5 points, 3-4 free throws, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks
#14 | Luke Hopp | 7 rebounds
#21 | Cody Marcinko | 2 points, 3 rebounds
#32 | Cooper Knoll | 2 points
#35 | Anthony Allison Jr. | 4 points, 6 rebounds

Team Stats
 19 2's, 4 3's, 14-22 free throws, 37 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals, 4 blocks

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
2024 Danville Classic
vs. Mid-Michigan Lakers (0-1)
Saturday, November 2nd - 2PM
at Mary Miller Gym - Danville, IL
Watch Live (BlueFrame Tech)