PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College men's basketball team is going into the Region IV tournament next weekend on a high note.  Three days after knocking off first-place Triton, the Hawks continued the momentum with a 67-53 victory over Madison College.  The team had just nine turnovers, their fourth fewest output of the season.
 
A balanced scoring effort led by 14 points from Tyler Gaedele (Arlington Heights, Ill., Rolling Meadows ) was critical in keeping the WolfPack off-balance.  Harper (13-16, 6-8 N4C) also got 13 points from Garett Gatz (Elk Grove Village, Ill., Conant), ten from Charles Wright (Cheyenne, Wyo., Cheyenne East) and nine apiece from Michael Rose (Rolling Meadows, Ill., Rolling Meadows) and John Lorenz (Elk Grove, Ill., Elk Grove).  The Hawks continued their torrid shooting, knocking down ten 3-pointers, led by Gaedele and Gatz with three each.
 
Harper started out hot, knocking down three of their first four shots from long distance.  Gaedele, Rose and Gatz all drained triples to stake the Hawks to an early 11-4 advantage.  Kyoshiro Azumaya (Schaumburg, Ill., Hoffman Estates ) got into the act midway through the first half with a 3-pointer for a 27-17 lead.  Madison, however, closed to within 37-32 by halftime.
 
The Hawks came out strong in the second half.  Up 45-39, Lorenz hit a 3-pointer and then a long jump shot beforeConnor Miklasz (Mount Prospect, Ill., Hersey) hit one from downtown.  A WolfPack hoop temporarily halted the run but Gatz lined up another 3-pointer and then got a steal and layup for a 58-41 with 8:59 to play.
 
Miklasz finished with eight assists while Rose hauled in ten rebounds.  Eric Porter (Arlington Heights, Ill., Lake Zurich) provided good energy off the bench with four points and five rebounds.
 
The team will find tomorrow at the seeding meeting out who and where they will be playing when the Region IV quarterfinals begin on Wednesday.