PALATINE, Ill. - Trailing by nine points in the first half, the Harper College men's basketball team recovered to take a nine point second half lead but was unable to maintain that advantage in a 63-58 loss to visiting Rock Valley College (15-6, 4-1 N4C).
 
Harper (6-15, 0-5) took a 56-47 lead with 4:51 to play when Connor Miklasz (Mt. Prospect, Ill., Hersey) successfully broke Rock Valley's press and found Louis Erkins (Schaumburg, Ill., Glenbard South) for a layup.  But the Golden Eagles outscored the Hawks 16-2 the rest of the way, taking the lead with just over two minutes remaining on Khalil Valentine's steal and layup plus the foul.
 
The Hawks put themselves in position to win thanks to a spirited defensive effort that allowed the Golden Eagles to shoot just 37% (22 of 59) from the field.  Harper allowed only 25 first half points and took a two point lead into intermission when John Lorenz (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Elk Grove) scored on a leaner in the lane with five seconds left, the team's first lead of the game.
 
Shonnon Barfield (Posen, Ill., Homewood-Flossmoor) helped increase the lead five minutes into the second half, knocking down a three-pointer for a four point edge 36-32.  When Rock Valley closed to within one, Harper responded with an 8-2 run.  Erkins started the spurt after he rebounded his own miss and scored down low, Miklasz added a 17-foot jumper and Barfield capped it with two drives to the basket.
 
Lorenz got to the basket and converted for a 54-45 lead with 5:14 left.  Rock Valley's Dominique Gaddis, who had 18 points and ten rebounds, answered with two free throws on the ensuing possession before Erkins finished the aforementioned layup.
 
The Golden Eagles raced out to leads of 13-5 and 18-9 before the Hawk defense dug in.  Over the final seven-plus minutes, Rock Valley tallied only seven points while Harper produced 18 in that same span.  Lorenz's spinning jump shot finally tied the game at 23-23 with 2:01 left before the break and after Valentine answered on the other end, Jordan Mack (Hillside, Ill., St. Joseph) knotted things up once again with an acrobatic tip-in of a missed Harper shot.
 
Barfield finished with 18 points, including three three-pointers, to lead the way on offense for Harper.  Miklasz shot five of ten from the floor for 11 points to go along with four assists.  Lorenz scored nine points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds while Erkins hit three of his five shots for seven points. 
 
Elijah Williams had a game-high 22 points and his ten rebounds were part of a 38-32 Golden Eagle advantage on the boards.  Girbraun Smith also had 12 points.
 
The Hawks return to action this Saturday as the team travels to take on Madison College (4-12, 2-3).  Tipoff is slated for 3:00 PM.

N4C Standings

1.	Triton	5-0	17-3
2.	Milwaukee	4-1	15-5
3.	Rock Valley	4-1	15-6
4.	Wright	3-2	7-11
5.	Joliet	2-3	13-8
6.	Madison	2-3	4-12
7.	DuPage	0-5	9-12
8.	HARPER	0-5	6-15