Wauwatosa, WI - The Illinois Central College men's basketball team (3-6) had a road trip north to the Bloechl Center at Mount Mary University to take on the Bobcats from Bryant & Stratton (9-4), a team who had played and defeated the Cougars in East Peoria just under a month ago. In this meeting a ferocious start by the Bobcats was eventually met by a late comeback effort by the Cougars, but the latter was not quite enough, resulting in a 76-62 win for Bryant & Stratton. 

FIRST HALF RECAP
That ferocious start was indeed the case, with a bucket from Jaylen Brown getting ICC on the board, but the Bobcats had already scored the game's first 10 points. Bryant & Stratton would also score off an ensuing Cougar turnover, and coach Tony Wysinger would pull the early timeout. 

A three-pointer from Azarion Richardson and two-pointers from Cody Marcinko and Shamar Grant were keeping the Cougars within a 10-point margin for the most part. Grant's points came by way of a coast-to-coast bucket, cutting the Bobcat lead to 19-9 roughly midway through the first half. 

The lead for Bryant & Stratton would in fact stay in double figures for a fair stretch of time. Amid a stretch that saw Rickey Woods III responsible for four straight Cougar points, the Bobcats were still ahead 33-21 despite the second of Woods' makes. 

A block from Anthony Allison Jr. and steal from Cooper Knoll helped spark a miniature run by the ICC offense, with a Richardson fast break lay-in and Woods free throw cutting that dreading double figure lead back down to single digits at 33-24 with just 1:08 until half. Alas, the Bobcats would close the half on a 4-0 run to head to the locker rooms with a 13-point advantage. 

SECOND HALF RECAP
The Cougars made the adjustments they needed to during the halftime break. The infancy of the second half was perhaps ICC's best stretch of the game, offensively speaking. Woods (twice) and Payton Cook were responsible for a 6-0 run. Cook's make, off an assist on the fast break from Isaiah Payne, forced Bryant & Stratton to call timeout in an attempt to quell the Cougar run. 

ICC was still there, a steal and bucket from Richardson, converted free throw trip from Woods, and made two-pointer from Payne had the Cougars within eight points with plenty of basketball left to be played - 13:34 to be exact. 

Then the offense simmered down for some time. Five turnovers were made over roughly the next four minutes of play. Prior to Woods going 2-2 at the free throw line with 9:50 left, the Bobcats led 48-35. 

Bryant & Stratton had a quality run after the Woods free throws. A three with 8:33 left put them up 13, and a open dunk with 7:34 left put them up 12, but in between those was a trey from Brown to somewhat stop the run. A Bobcat and-one even put them up 14 points with time winding down at 6:57 on the clock. 

Despite all of that, the Cougars hadn't given up. A two from Cook, three from Payne, aggressive fast break layup from Jeremiah Tate, and deep trey from Payne again all had ICC back in business, cutting the deficit to just eight points and 5:19 to go. 

Payne's three-point game would continue to be a factor, with a third in just over two minutes of play keeping the margin at eight. Another three, this time from Richardson would cut it to seven points with 3:41 to go. Unfourtunately, that would be the closest the Cougars got. 

Dagger after dagger, as the Bobcats got to offensive rebounds when they needed them most, and a couple of open layups at and under the game's three-minute mark gave them all the momentum. 

Made shots from Woods and Payne, plus a free throw from RJ Davitz would cap the scoring for the night at 62 points. 

The Cougars now have a quick turn-around, taking just one day off from game action before hosting Chris Herman's Illinois Valley Eagles from Region 4 on Thursday at Ramsey Gym. Herman is the son of ICC Athletics Hall-of-Famer and former Head Men's Basketball Coach Carroll Herman. 

COUGAR STATISTICS
#0, Rickey Woods III | 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 assist
#22, Isaiah Payne | 13 points, 3 three-pointers, 1 rebound, 4 assists
#5, Azarion Richardson | 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
#1, Jaylen Brown | 10 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound, 1 assist
#34, Payton Cook | 4 points, 5 rebounds
#2, Jeremiah Tate | 2 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 block
#20, Shamar Grant | 2 points, 1 rebound, 3 steals
#21, Cody Marcinko | 2 points, 2 rebounds
#3, RJ Davitz | 1 point, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
#35, Anthony Allison Jr. | 1 point, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
#32, Cooper Knoll | 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
#23, Sean Lewis | 1 rebound

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. Illinois Valley Eagles (5-7)
Thursday, December 12th - 6:00 PM
at Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, IL
Watch Live (Hudl-TV)