Springfield, Ill. - The Illinois Central College men's basketball team (15-10 Overall, 6-4 Region 24, 4-4 MWAC) made the trek south to Cass Gym on Saturday afternoon to take on the Lincoln Land Loggers (11-11 Overall, 6-5 Region 24, 4-4 MWAC) in Region 24/MWAC action. The Cougars trailed at halftime, but a 51.9% shooting effort in the second half powered ICC to a 73-66 road victory over the Loggers. 

It wasn't until Israel Barnett hit a dump-down pass for Payton Cook inside for a layup and the game's first multi-possession lead at the 12:23 mark of the first half (ICC 17-12). The new back and forth became five-point leads. Damuzha Moore knocked down a trey from the left win to go ahead 22-17. Lincoln Land got a defensive rebound and a three-pointer of their own to cap an 8-0 run to take the lead at 25-22 with 8:27 to go until halftime. From that point to the locker room, you guessed it, no momentum was grabbed. In fact, the Loggers and Cougars tied each other 8-8 for the rest of the half. Lincoln Land did go up 27-22 at the 7:52 mark for a 10-0 run. LaColis Ashby Jr. hit a hook shot in the lane to get within 31-30, but the hosts scored the last bucket of the half, making it 33-30 Lincoln Land after 20 minutes. 

Out of the locker room, Tony Mabon Jr. keep the three-point shooting going with one from the point to pull within 37-35. Now, Cameron Weed was fouled at the 9:45 mark. There were already 17 combined fouls between the sides for the half, so free throws were bound to be a factor in the second half (ICC eventually shot 10-20 at the charity stripe in the second half). Mabon would hit a running layup at the 7:07 mark for a 54-53 lead. Perhaps the game's momentum-changing play happened when Mabon again knocked down a stepback trey from the right wing, putting ICC ahead 57-53 with just 6:15 to go. Lo and behold, free throws tied it back up at 57 with 4:56 left. A Mabon trey (assist Cook), Donnell trey (assist Wilson), and a pair of Cook free throws gave ICC its largest lead of the game at 65-57 with 3:10 to go.

Lincoln Land would out-score ICC 9-8 the rest of the way, but the Cougars had already gotten the big run they needed, out-scoring the Loggers in the second half 43-33 for the seven-point win. 

COUGAR STATISTICS
Tony Mabon Jr. | 30 points (5 3's), 2 rebounds, 2 steals
Payton Cook | 15 points, 9 rebounds
LaColis Ashby Jr. | 12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Amariyae Wilson | 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Isaiah Donnell | 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Damuzha Moore | 3 points, 2 steals
Ayden Grant | 2 rebounds

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Lewis & Clark Trailblazers (3-18 Overall, 1-9 Region 24, 1-7 MWAC)
Wednesday, February 21st - 7:30 PM
River Bend Arena - Godfrey, Ill.
Watch Live (Veo Live App)