Box Score
PALATINE, Ill. – Locked in a tight game with Olivet Nazarene University JV, the Harper College men's basketball team turned to their most experienced player, redshirt sophomore
Garett Gatz (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Conant), and he delivered. Gatz nailed two late 3-pointers to seal a 71-66 victory over the Tigers.
Trailing 62-61, Gatz knocked down two free throws with 2:46 to give the Hawks the lead for good. After a free throw from
Michael Rose (Rolling Meadows), Gatz knocked down a deep 3-pointer with 1:01 left for a 67-62 lead.
The Tigers' Tony Banks scored quickly to put the Hawks' lead back at 3, but with the shot clock winding down,
Connor Miklasz (Hersey) hit Gatz for an even deeper 3-pointer with 26 seconds left to give Harper (3-5) a 70-64 lead and all but end things.
Gatz finished with a game-high 27 points, which included draining six 3-pointers and knocking down 7-of-8 free throws. He also had five steals and four assists.
The Hawks started slow as a stretch of 8:02 in the first half in which the team made just one field goal, a layup by Gatz, allowed Olivet Nazarene to turn a 7-3 deficit into a 16-9 lead. But Miklasz fueled an 8-0 run to get the Hawks back in the game. His drive and layup started it and after
John Lorenz (Elk Grove) made his first basket of the night, Miklasz fed Rose and Lorenz to give Harper a 20-18 lead.
The Tigers led 37-33 at halftime but the Hawks came out firing to open the second half. Gatz connected from deep and buckets from Miklasz,
Stefan Vucicevic (Hersey),
Charles Wright (Cheyenne East, Wy.) and Vucicevic were part of an 11-2 run. Harper's defense allowed Olivet Nazarene to make just two baskets in the first seven minutes of the second half.
Trailing 53-48 with 7:46 left, Miklasz hit four free-throws to bring the Hawks within a point. The last of Vucicevic's ten points brought Harper even at 58-58 before Gatz took over.
Miklasz flirted with a triple-double with ten points, eight assists and eight steals while Rose had 11 points.
The Hawks are back in action tomorrow against Judson JV. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 PM.
