Galesburg, IL-Hours after appearing among others receiving votes in this week’s NJCAA Division II rankings, the Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team blew out St. Ambrose JV 94-52 on Monday night at John M. Lewis Gymnasium. The Chargers (3-0) hit four 3-pointers in the opening 7 minutes as they raced to a 17-2 lead and never trailed in the contest.Up 35-19 in the first, Sandburg closed the half on an 11-0 run and went on to lead by as many as 47 in the second half. Freshman forward Cody Baer (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) had 10 points and a team-leading seven rebounds, with most of his action coming in the first half. Baer hit 5 of 10 shots and grabbed four offensive rebounds. Scott Gowan (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) scored a game-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting and added three assists. The Chargers travel to face Monmouth JV at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Sophomore forward Kennedy Jackson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone) finished a point away from a double-double, but the Carl Sandburg College women’s basketball team dropped its home opener to Southeastern 57-41 on Monday night at John M. Lewis Gymnasium. Southeastern (3-1) had a four-point lead early in the third quarter before closing the period on a 14-0 run in the final 6:49.The Chargers (1-1) had a 20-18 lead after a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Sophie Whitford (Macomb, Ill./Macomb) with 4:46 left in the first half, but the Blackhawks answered with seven straight points to take the lead for good. Southeastern went into halftime up 28-24. Jackson was the Chargers’ leading scorer with nine points and added 10 rebounds, with four of those coming on the offensive glass. The Charger ladies next play at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday vs. Danville Area
