East Peoria, Ill. - The Illinois Central College men's basketball team (17-10 Overall, 8-4 Region 24, 5-4 MWAC) had revenge on its mind on Saturday afternoon. On top of it being sophomore day, the Cougars were looking to avenge a buzzer-beating loss to Spoon River (5-20 Overall, 3-9 Region 24, 3-7 MWAC) just under a month ago. Avenge they would, with the Cougars sustaining a double-figure lead in the second half on route to an 81-69 victory over the Snappers. 

Play did not get off to an entirely blistering start, with neither team having much momentum all the way through the first seven minutes of the game. It wasn't until Jeremiah Tate picked off a pass and found Azarion Richardson for a breakaway layup at the 12:34 mark of the first half to give ICC the first multi-possession lead of the game. Payton Cook and LaColis Ashby Jr. jointly combined for ICC's next eight points with a couple looks on the interior, eventually building a 27-19 lead. Alas, the double figure lead, for the time being, would remain elusive. A pair of Spoon River free throws had capped a miniature 6-0 run and gotten the Snappers within a score at 27-25. The rest of the half saw the two offenses at the same pace, relatively speaking, with a Tate floater capping off ICC's first half scoring, as the Cougars took a slim 33-31 lead into the locker room. 

The Snappers got right to work after their halftime adjustments, knocking down a three-pointer just 15 seconds into the second half for a 34-33 lead. That was just the beginning of what became a 9-0 run to go up on ICC 40-33 with 17:35 to go, forcing coach Tony Wysinger to call a timeout to regroup. Ah yes, but back came the Cougars, the timeout going to good use. Ashby Jr. took off from just inside the free throw line for a one-handed jam and cut the deficit to 42-39 and the Snappers would call time with 15:50 left. While the ICC defense was doing its part, forcing multiple shot clock violations, Richardson hit a trey on the other end to give the Cougars the lead back, now at 44-42 with 14:25 to go. Amariyae Wilson found Ashby Jr. inside for an old-fashioned three-point play and a 49-42 lead. 

Feed the hot hand, they say. The Cougars did, with Wilson connecting this time with Richardson for another three-pointer, and while Richardson tumbled to the ground, the shot went in and put ICC back up six. Despite the Snappers not going away, the Cougars always seemed to have an answer offensively. Cook would split through a double team off an inbounds play for a layup and a five-point lead with 9:20 to go. Isaiah Donnell rose up for a terrific block on a Spoon River layup and that fed into an Ashby Jr. hook shot and a new six-point lead. Cook wasn't done, either. He'd rise up and slide in for a one-handed dunk along the baseline, as now, the ICC lead slowly began to swell. Richardson knocked down a pair of free throws to go up 68-58 with 4:32 to go, and the Cougars never looked back from there. Although the game's margin the rest of the way (13-11) was quite even, ICC had gone on the run they needed. Free throws would dominate the game's waning minutes, as the Cougars would take down the Snappers and move into sole possession of second place in the region standings. 

COUGAR STATISTICS
LaColis Ashby Jr. | 25 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Tony Mabon Jr. | 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
Azarion Richardson | 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists
Payton Cook | 8 points, 3 rebounds
Isaiah Donnell | 5 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds
Amariyae Wilson | 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Jeremiah Tate | 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Willie Fragher | 3 rebounds

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. #4 Parkland Cobras (25-3 Overall, 11-2 Region 24, 9-2 MWAC)
Wednesday, February 28th - 7:30 PM
Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, Illinois
Watch Live (YouTube)