GALESBURG — The Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team is on the verge of cracking the NJCAA Division II top 20.
After not getting votes for the first time during the regular season in last week’s rankings, the Chargers (12-2) vaulted up to first among others receiving votes in the latest poll, released Monday afternoon.
Sandburg got 14 points in the voting, just one back of 20th-ranked Mott. Six other teams outside the top 20 received votes, led by Potomac State’s seven points.
The Chargers easily won both of their games last week, defeating Lincoln Land 79-61 at home on Wednesday and blowing out St. Ambrose JV 89-46 on the road Friday.
Sandburg ranks second in the nation defensively, allowing just 61.2 points per game. On the offensive end, the Chargers are sixth in the country in 3-point shooting (39.4 percent) and ninth in free-throw shooting (72.7 percent).
Individually, sophomore guard Scott Gowan (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) is sixth among NJCAA Division II players in 3-point shooting at 57.4 percent (35 of 61). Freshman guard Brock Bower-Preece (Mapleton, Ill./Illini Bluffs) is seventh nationally with a 5.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, and sophomore James Jones (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) rates 10th in the country with 33 steals.
The Chargers own a victory over 16th-ranked Moraine Valley, which is the Cyclones’ only loss this season. Sandburg’s only losses have come to third-ranked Milwaukee Area Tech (12-1) and Kalamazoo Valley (8-2).
The Chargers host McHenry County 3 p.m. Tuesday in the back end of a women’s-men’s matinee doubleheader. Sandburg then plays Friday at Bryant & Stratton and Jan. 3 at No. 9 South Suburban before the next national rankings come out Jan. 6.
