PALATINE, Ill. - The Harper College men's basketball team turned a double-digit second half deficit into a tie game with under five minutes to go but were unable to pull ahead in a 81-70 loss to Moraine Valley Community College (3-2) on Tuesday night in Palatine.
 
The Cyclones scored the first basket of the second half to lead 40-30 but from there, the Hawks methodically clawed their way back into the game.  A Moraine Valley run gave them a 12-point lead with 13:10 remaining in the game before Harper (3-2) started to counter the Cyclones athleticism with some of their own spectacular plays to highlight a span of 9:07 in which Harper outscored Moraine Valley 21-9. 
 
The Hawks ran an out of bounds play that resulted in an alley-oop dunk to Jordan Mack (Hillside, Ill., St. Joseph), courtesy of a perfect pass from Garett Gatz (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Conant).  Mack, who was held scoreless in the first half, got going at the right time for Harper.  First, he drained a foul-line jumper, and then he found John Lorenz (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Elk Grove) for a 3-pointer to trim the lead to 53-46.  After a Cyclone bucket, Kyler Market (Lombard, Ill., Willowbrook) found Chris Hicks (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Elk Grove) for 2 and then Hicks returned the favor to set up Market to trail 55-50 with 9:45 remaining.
 
Market tipped in a Hicks miss before knocking down two free throws to bring the Hawks within two points.  Mack followed that with a spectacular play in which the first-year player stole the ball, sent a lead pass upcourt to a teammate, corralled the missed layup and put the rebound in for a hoop and the foul to tie the game.  After an injury, Bryant Adams (Chicago, Ill., De LaSalle) came off the bench cold and calmly sank two free throws to once again put Harper even at 62-62.  But that was as good as it got for the Hawks as the Cyclones finished the game on a 19-8 run.
 
Hicks led Harper in scoring with 14 points while Gatz and Market added 13 apiece.  Connor Miklasz (Mt. Prospect, Ill., Hersey) had a solid game at point guard with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.  The Hawks were outrebounded but were able to stay in the game thanks to 15 steals, five courtesy of Lorenz.
 
Harper closes out its' brief two game homestand when Oakton comes to town on Thursday night.  Tipoff is slated for 7:00 or approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's basketball team's game with Oakton.