Wendling Leads Sandburg Men’s Hoops in Opening-Night Win

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Matt Wendling, CSC Men’s Basketball

GALESBURG — The Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team opened its 2017-18 campaign with an 80-46 rout of St. Ambrose JV on Wednesday night at John M. Lewis Gymnasium.

Matt Wendling (Athens, Ill./Athens) led three Chargers (1-0) players in double figures, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Wendling’s night included a 3-for-4 effort from beyond the arc.

Sophomore transfer Kourtlandt Martin (Evansville, Ind./Central) scored 10 points, recorded three steals and had a team-best five assists in his Sandburg debut. Freshman guard Ben Stipp (Abingdon, Ill./Abingdon-Avon) had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in his first collegiate contest.

All 15 players got into the contest for Sandburg, which shot 29 of 65 (44 percent) on the night. Eryon Byrd (Peoria, Ill./Peoria) hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight for the Chargers. Sophomore transfer Tyler Houston (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) also had eight points and added three steals in his first game as a Charger.

Sandburg led 40-24 at halftime and saw its lead grow to as large as 46 points.

“It’s always nice to get that first win under your belt,” Chargers coach Ryan Twaddle said. “Everyone got in and got some nerves out, but now we saw some areas we need to improve upon against actual competition. We’ve got a long way to go, but it’s a long season.”

Mike Mooney had a team-leading 12 points for the Fighting Bees, whose only lead of the game came at 3-2.

The Chargers’ next contest is 1 p.m. Saturday at home against Elgin.

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