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Daily Herald Article
PALATINE, Ill. – On a day where the Harper College men's basketball program welcomed back its former players for Alumni Day, the Hawks faced the tough task of playing the top-ranked team in the country and N4C foe, Rock Valley College. The Golden Eagles came away with an 82-52 conference win over the Hawks inside the Wellness & Sports Center.
The Hawks (8-16, 1-7 N4C) took an early 6-3 lead 3 ½ minutes in behind four points from Davion Benton (Chicago, Ill. /Alcott College Prep), but Rock Valley (20-3, 7-1 N4C) took the lead for good on an Isaiah Box 3-pointer. The Golden Eagles dominated much of the first half behind Jared Mayes' 13 points and took a 43-21 lead at the break.
At halftime, former Harper men's basketball players, members of the poms team, and other staff were recognized and given a Harper College Alumni Basketball t-shirt.
The Golden Eagles maintained a big lead throughout the second half. Harper's Davion Benton (Chicago, Ill. /Alcott College Prep) scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the second half and also grabbed 13 rebounds in the game. Benton was 10-of-13 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line. Admir Suljic (Chicago, Ill. /Lane Tech) added nine points for the Hawks, and Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) scored six.
Former men's basketball players, members of the poms team, and other staff gathered for a picture at halftime of the game. (Kevin Tiongson)Mayes and Ben Grygiel each finished with 16 points for Rock Valley. The Golden Eagles shot 44.3 percent (31-of-70) for the game while the Hawks shot 36 percent (18-of-50).
Harper is back on its home court Wednesday night for a 7 PM tip against No. 1 (Div. II) Triton College (22-2, 8-0 N4C).
