Daily Herald Article

The Harbinger Article

PALATINE, Ill. – In a close game, rebounding can go a long way in determining the outcome of the game. This was the case on Tuesday night inside the Wellness & Sports Center, as the Harper College men's basketball team struggled to keep Richard J. Daley College off the glass. The end result was a 66-64 defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs.

The Hawks (3-5) were outrebounded 51-28 in the game, and Daley (1-6) grabbed 21 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second chance points, compared to just two second chance points for the Hawks. Both teams struggled from the floor, as Harper shot 37.1 percent (23-of-62), and Daley shot 36.4 percent (24-of-66).

Harper trailed 66-57 with 2:24 to play but fought back to 66-61 on a pair of Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) free throws and a layup by Gatlin with 29 seconds to play. After a Bulldogs turnover, Hawks guard Allias Burnett (Joliet, Ill. /Joliet West) buried a 3-pointer to cut it to 66-64.

Coming out of a timeout, Daley's Mychele Bullock threw the inbounds pass out of bounds on the other side of the court, giving the Hawks the ball back with less than 10 seconds to play. Burnett, who scored a game-high 22 points, attempted a tightly-contested 3-pointer for the win but could not convert. The win was the Bulldogs' first of the 2015-16 season.

Despite some early foul trouble, Harper sophomore point guard Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) finished with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Connor Elzerman (Oxford, Mich./Oxford) knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 12 points before fouling out with 3:47 to play. Maurice Brown (/Richards Career Academy) scored six points and ripped down nine rebounds.

The Bulldogs featured a balanced attack with six players scoring six or more points, led by Darian Whiteside's 13 points and 10 rebounds. Daley also had five players with five or more rebounds. Isaiah Williams scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and LaJuan Miller had 11 points and six rebounds.

The Hawks will not play over Thanksgiving break but will be back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 7 PM against Moraine Valley Community College (3-5) inside the Wellness & Sports Center.