East Peoria, IL - The Illinois Central College Men's Basketball team (1-4, 0-0) continued its long November homestand on Wednesday by hosting the Bryant & Stratton Bobcats (4-2) at Ramsey Gym. The Cougars kept the game quite competitive in the first half, but a critical surge out of the halftime locker room by the Bobcats ultimately won the game, as a late comeback from ICC would not be enough in a 74-67 loss. 

FIRST HALF RECAP
First half action started at a high tempo, and with plenty of physicality. Bryant & Stratton had two blocks inside on the Cougars within the game's first three possessions. The game wasn't out of hand, however. A dunk from Luke Hopp put ICC within 6-4 at 16:16 in the first half. Amidst the close game, the Cougars were unable to counter the intense defense from the Bobcats, but weren't able to let that affect the margin of the game. A game of runs would ensue, as the Bobcats went on a mid-half run of 14-4 in nature to swell their lead, but a Payton Cook reverse layup pulled the game back within four points at 18-14. 

With 7:18 left in the first half, Idris Thomas took flight for a breakaway dunk with some extra enthusiasm, cutting it to a six point lead (24-18). Less than a minute later, an at-the-time uncharacteristic through-the-hands turnover from the Bobcats was capitalized on by way of an RJ Davitz floater and just like that, a one-score game (24-22 Bryant & Stratton). Free throws from Hopp even cut it to a one-point game at 25-24. An important three from the Bobcats with 1:56 to go until the break made it a six-point game. Rickey Woods III knocked down a corner trey with 1:25 to go, and that 30-27 Bryant & Stratton lead would stand as the halftime score.

SECOND HALF RECAP
The Bobcats made adjustments and came out with all the energy they had left, and perhaps some more. A 17-7 run put the Cougars in a state of perplexion, with the margin going from three to 11 points relatively quickly. It seemed as if ICC was affected enough by the big run that it would take quite the run to make the game more competitive. Alas, that fight was in them. A Cougar steal became a Hopp dunk and a nine-point game with 10:42 left. 

Idris Thomas may have kept ICC in the game even more so. A physical layup inside made it 54-48 Bobcats, and after that shot, the Cougar defense forced a five-second inbounding violation. A fadeaway from Thomas and free throw from Davitz made it a one-score game again, now at 54-51 Bryant & Stratton with 6:42 on the clock. 

The Bobcats, however, had other ideas. A converted and-one, plus free throws off of a free-path foul blew the margin back up to 12 points with just 4:38 to go. 

Yet again, the Cougars would not go down without a fight. Woods III had his own miniature run, with an and-one and fadeaway making it 68-64 Bobcats with just 71 ticks left. 

Free throws would doom the game's result down the stretch, with the Bobcats going 20-25 (80%) in the second half. 

A three from Isaiah Payne gave the Cougars the 67 points they'd score, but an intentional foul and two Bobcat free throws set the final 74-67 score, and the buzzer would sound after Bryant & Stratton came up with one last big block on a dunk attempt.  

COUGAR STATISTICS
Luke Hopp | 13 points, 8 rebounds
Idris Thomas | 11 points, 7 rebounds
Rickey Woods III | 11 points, 2 steals
Payton Cook | 9 points, 3 rebounds
RJ Davitz | 7 points, 3 rebounds
Isaiah Payne | 5 points, 4 assists, 4 steals
Jeremiah Tate | 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Azarion Richardson | 2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Shamar Grant | 2 points
Jaylen Brown | 2 points
Anthony Allison Jr. | 1 point

COUGAR TEAM TOTALS
Field Goals | 24 of 59 (40.7%)
Three-Pointers | 2 of 11 (18.2%)
Free Throws | 17 of 31 (54.8%)
Rebounds | 40
Assists | 12
Steals | 10
Blocks | 2
Turnovers | 22
Fouls | 26

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Black Hawk Braves (4-3)
Wednesday, November 20th - 7:30PM (approx.)
at Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, IL
Watch Live (YouTube)