Daily Herald Article

PALATINE, Ill. – The Wellness & Sports Center was the place to see some quality basketball on Thursday night. After struggling through the last week of non-conference play, the Hawks (3-4) righted the ship in a big way over a quality opponent, defeating visiting Waubonsee Community College 79-58.

It started on the defensive end for the Hawks, as they held the Chiefs (3-2) to just 32.4 percent shooting (24-of-74) and 2-of-15 from the 3-point line. Harper also showed off its ability on the offensive end on the fast-break, shot a respectable percentage from the floor, and converted its free throws.

"It's just a team effort, a will. It's not just something you practice. It's something inside your heart," said Harper point guard Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie). "We're starting to come (together) as a family."

The Chiefs led 13-8 after the first 6 ½ minutes, but Harper used a 20-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a double digit lead at 28-17. In that spurt, Allias Burnett (Joliet, Ill. /Joliet West) threw down a highlight reel dunk off an alley-oop to send the crowd into a frenzy and put the hosts ahead 15-13.

Waubonsee's Chris Buckley scored 13 points in the first half to keep the Chiefs within reach as the Hawks took a 41-32 lead into the locker room. Harper featured a balanced attack in the first half, led by Connor Elzerman (Oxford, Mich./Oxford) with eight points, Burnett with seven, and Gatlin with seven points, four rebounds, and five assists.

In the second half, the trio really turned it on, and Burnett rocked the rim again with another alley-oop dunk to put Harper ahead 54-40 with 14:01 to play. The Chiefs simply had no answers on the defensive end, as Gatlin commandeered a Hawks offense that continued to stretch the lead. With 11:09 remaining, Gatlin grabbed a rebound to give him a double-double, and he also flirted with a triple-double with eight assists.

A pair of Maurice Brown (/Richards Career Academy) free throws gave Harper a 64-46 advantage with 8:10 remaining. Harper's biggest lead of the game came at the 4:49 mark as Burnett knocked down a pair of free throws to push the edge to 23 points at 74-51. The Hawks were impressive from the line, shooting 81.5 percent (22-of-27). Waubonsee struggled at a 38.1 percent clip (8-of-21).

While the Hawks struggled from beyond the arc (7-of-24), they still managed to shoot 41.7 percent (25-of-60) in the contest. Gatlin led the team with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists while converting 7-of-8 free throws. Burnett scored 18 points and grabbed five boards, and Elzerman poured in 17 points and snagged eight rebounds.

"We had a long conversation last night about what we had to do defensively, and tonight was the best game we've had all year on defense," Burnett said.

Maurice Brown (/Richards Career Academy) scored nine points and was 5-of-6 from the foul line, and Marcus Dover (/Conant) played solid defense and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with three blocks and four points.

Harper looks to carry over the momentum into a game against Richard J. Daley College (0-5) on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Tipoff is set for 7 PM inside the Wellness & Sports Center.