PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College men's basketball team got off to a terrific start and never looked back in posting a 78-74 victory over Wilbur Wright College.  The win was the team's third in their last four home games and avenged a 55-54 loss to the Rams on Jan. 21.
 
Harper (9-18, 3-8 N4C) trailed briefly 3-2 but a 10-0 run put them up for good as the closest Wright (9-16, 4-7) would get would be three points in the second half.
 
“I wouldn't want to play us in the playoffs, because we are playing pretty well right now,” said head coach Anthony Amarino.
 
The Hawks came out of the gate scorching hot, hitting on their first six shot attempts and building a 12-3 lead.  Their first five shots were all in the paint as Louis Erkins (Schaumburg, Ill., Glenbard South) set the tone with two strong finishes at the rim.
 
With Wright in a zone defense, Harper turned to the long ball for their offense.  After the Rams pulled to within 18-13 with 14:00 left in the opening half, the Hawks went on a three-point shooting spree.  The team hit six trifectas over the next seven minutes as Harper connected on 8 of 13 from three-point land in the first half, four courtesy of Connor Miklasz (Mt. Prospect, Ill., Hersey), and led 46-41 at intermission.
 
When the Rams closed the gap to 53-50 with 13:24 left, the Hawks responded with a 10-0 run, highlighted by a beautiful backdoor feed from John Lorenz (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Elk Grove) to Miklasz, who also capped the spurt with a steal and layup.
 
Wright, however, wouldn't go away, as they hit three three-pointers in the final two minutes to bring a 12-point Harper advantage down to five with 14 seconds remaining.  But the Hawks hung on as Shonnon Barfield (Posen, Ill., Homewood-Flossmoor), Jordan Mack (Hillside, Ill., St. Joseph) and Miklasz all hit free throws down the stretch.
 
“If we stay focused, I think we can beat teams by double figures,” Amarino said.  “We have a lot of kids playing well right now, it's just a matter of staying in the game.”
 
Miklasz finished with a game-high 22 points while also dishing out five assists for a Harper squad that shot 49% (26-53) from the floor and 53% (9-17) from deep.  Mack, who hit several key shots in the final two minutes, added 15 points while Lorenz made 3 of 4 shots for 11 points.  Barfield narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and ten rebounds.
 
Up next, the Hawks travel to Rock Valley (16-10, 6-4) on Saturday.  Tipoff is slated for 3:00 PM.
 
“We have a big one on Saturday at Rock Valley, and I think we will play well down there, too,” Amarino said.