Danville, IL - The Illinois Central College Men's Basketball team (6-12 Overall, 2-2 Region 24) made the trek eastward to Mary Miller Gym to take on the Danville Area Jaguars (11-7 Overall, 5-2 Region 24) in Region 24 and MWAC action on Monday afternoon. The Cougars would be unable to counter the high-powered Jaguar offense, particularly in the paint, as the hosts would come away with a 90-76 victory. 

Game action certainly got off to a quality start, perhaps for both sides. An offensive surplus in the opening minutes had the Cougars and Jaguars deadlocked at 11 when it came to the game's first media timeout. Danville Area, however, powered out to a 13-4 run after that timeout. The Jaguars would chip away at the point spread and work it up to the halftime score of 45-27. 

When it came time for the second half, it at least started almost as a mirror image of the opening 20 minutes. Made baskets back and forth, all the way up until the half's first media timeout. Yes, once again, an exact 13-4 run was again made by Danville Area. The difference is this time, they were far from over. The Jaguars' scoring efforts put them ahead and what would eventually turn out to be their largest lead at 60-29. 

The Cougars fought back though with a couple scoring runs of their own, cutting the margin to a competitive range and forcing Danville Area to call timeout. A 13-7 out-scoring of the Jaguars saw Isaiah Payne knock down a pair from behind the arc and Idris Thomas scoring inside got the Cougars to their closest margin, which was the 14-point final score. 

The Cougars were within 39-34 on the team rebounding battle, and only lost the turnover battle by three (11-14). Danville Area out-shot ICC 57.6% to 41.8%, and won the points in the paint battle 58-34. ICC's bench did out-score the Jaguar bench, 27-23. 

COUGAR STATISTICS
Idris Thomas | 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Michael Womer | 10 points, 4 rebounds
Cooper Knoll | 10 points, 4 rebounds
RJ Davitz | 8 points
Azarion Richardson | 7 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds
Rickey Woods III | 6 points, 3 assists
Isaiah Payne | 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Cody Marcinko | 4 points, 3 rebounds
Jeremiah Tate | 2 points, 6 rebounds
Sean Lewis | 2 points
Anthony Allison Jr. | 3 rebounds

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
vs. John Wood Blazers (7-13 Overall, 1-4 Region 24)
Date / Time TBA
at Ramsey Gym - East Peoria, Illinois
Watch Live (HUDL-TV)