Galesburg, IL-Sophomores James Jones (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) and Scott Gowan (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) tied for game-high honors with 14 points apiece in the Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team’s 86-62 blowout of Illinois College JV on Tuesday night at John M. Lewis Gymnasium. The Chargers (7-1) — among others receiving votes in the NJCAA Division II rankings for the third consecutive week — shot 51.5 percent from the field (34 of 66) and 60 percent from 3-point range (9 of 15) while beating the Blueboys for the second time in eight days. Back-to-back 3s from Brock Bower-Preece (Mapleton, Ill./Illini Bluffs) and Carter Fayhee (Macomb, Ill./Macomb) gave Sandburg its largest lead of the first half at 34-16 with 3:45 to go, but the Blueboys closed on a 14-4 stretch to get within 38-30 at the break. The Chargers opened the second half on a 13-3 spurt to stretch their lead back to 18 points at 51-33. Sandburg turned it up defensively as well, holding Illinois College JV to just two field goals in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. Jones scored his 14 on 5-of-7 shooting and hit all four of his free-throw attempts. The second-year forward also had four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Gowan went 6 of 8 from the floor and hit 2 of 3 from beyond the arc. He now ranks seventh in the nation in 3-point shooting at 61.3 percent (19 of 31). Bower-Preece, Elias Akale (Ashdod, Israel/Mekif Tet) and Noah Young (Colfax, Ill./Ridgeview) each added nine points. Akale also had a team-best six rebounds.
UP NEXT FOR SANDBURG: 3 p.m. Saturday vs. Rock Valley
