PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College men's basketball team came out firing in its first game of 2016, drilling 13 3-pointers on visiting Elgin Community College. The Hawks built up a 20-point second half lead and held on for an 89-82 nonconference victory on Monday at the Wellness & Sports Center.

Harper (9-7) was 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the 3-point arc in the first half and took a 43-33 lead into intermission. Allias Burnett (Joliet, Ill. /Joliet West) canned three 3's in the first half and had 11 points at the break.

Coming out of the locker room, the Hawks continued to pour it on. Leading 47-43 with 16:22 left, the Harper used a 26-10 run over the next 7 ½ minutes and led 73-53 with 8:55 to play. The Spartans (9-6) did not go quietly, as Jake Clodi (team-high 22 points) buried a three with 4:41 left in the game to cap off a 14-2 run and slice the Harper lead to 75-67.

Harper forward Marcus Dover (/Conant) gave the hosts an 11-point edge with a 3-point play with just over four minutes to go. Down the stretch, the Spartans cut as close as four points on two occasions (84-80 and 86-82), but Burnett and Abdul Mushtaq (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) combined to go 5-of-6 from the foul line in the final 36 seconds to seal the win.

The Hawks shot 48.5 percent (32-of-66) on the night and 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the 3-point line. All five Harper starters scored in double figures, led by 23 points and six assists from Burnett. Sophomore point guard Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.

Abdul Mushtaq (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling) buried four threes on his way to 16 points, and Connor Elzerman (Oxford, Mich./Oxford) had 14 points and six rebounds. Dover finished with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Daniel Hadler (/Elk Grove) provided a solid contribution with eight points (3-of-5 shooting) in 13 minutes off the bench.

The Hawks will now focus their attention on North Central Community College Conference (N4C) play. Harper begins its N4C schedule at home against No. 1 Rock Valley College (16-0) on Wednesday evening at 7 PM.