Playing for the region title for the third time in seven seasons, the Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team fell short of a trip to the national tournament with a 74-63 loss to fourth-ranked South Suburban on Saturday evening in the Region IV District 4 championship game.
A run in each half by the second-seeded Bulldogs (29-4) proved to be the difference against the No. 4-seeded Chargers, who ended their season with 23-10 for their third straight 20-win campaign.
South Suburban, which has won 20 of its last 21, advances to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament from March 17-21 in Danville.
KEY MOMENTS
- Five straight points brought the Chargers within 26-23 with 4:25 to go in the first half, but South Suburban rattled off 10 straight — capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Ishmael Martin — to open up a double-digit lead. The Bulldogs went into the break up 40-29.
- South Suburban continued its hot shooting coming out of intermission, scoring 11 of the first 13 to lead 51-31. The Bulldogs matched their largest lead of the night at 55-35 with 13:40 to play on a Malcolm Bell layup.
- The Chargers cut their deficit in half with 8:50 left by putting together a 12-2 run. Freshman guard Brock Bower-Preece (Mapleton, Ill./Illini Bluffs) opened the stretch with back-to-back 3s, and the Chargers also got buckets from James Jones (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier), Jean Luc Wilson (East Moline, Ill./United Township) and Scott Gowan (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East).That proved to be as close as Sandburg would get the rest of the way, though, as the Bulldogs scored six of the next eight.
SANDBURG STANDOUTS
Gowan and Fayhee were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts in the postseason. Gowan led the Chargers with 14 points in the title game and tied for the team lead with three assists. Fayhee finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
OTHER TOP CHARGERS
- Freshman forward Cody Baer (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) went 4 for 4 from the field and from the free-throw line for his 12 points. Baer also had a team-best seven rebounds.
FOR THE BULLDOGS
- Tariq Deere 19 points, eight rebounds
- Courtney Carter 12 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals
- Malcolm Bell 12 points, six rebounds
- Ishmael Martin 10 points
- Andre Dickerson 10 points
***Report Courtesy of Carl Sandburg College***
