Box Score PALATINE, IL- The Harper College men's basketball team faced off against N4C opponent Madison College WolfPack at Robert Morris on Wednesday. In an instant classic, the Hawks were able to defeat the WolfPack in overtime 81-79 on a last second put-back.
The first half got off to an ominous start for the Hawks as two consecutive missed shots turned into easy baskets for the WolfPack. After committing a foul on a three point shot attempt, the Hawks found themselves down by 9 with 16 minutes remaining in the first half. However, Harper would stay close thanks to good ball movement and shot selection which brought them within 5 halfway through the first on a layup by
Corin Daniel. The Hawks would fall into a mini cold streak and the WolfPack took advantage by bringing the score to 32-18 with 6:40 to go. Harper then bounced back with a run of their own, thanks to two jumpers by
Jesse Young and a three-pointer by
Michael Petrella to bring the deficit to 7 to close out the first half.
Daniel got the second half scoring started on a layup off of a backdoor cut where Young threaded the needle. Madison would again build a 10 point lead but
Christian Rettig chipped away with a jumper, a free throw, and an assist to bring it back down to 5. Great court vision and passing by
Sean Richardson played a role in the next few minutes as Richardson continuously found the open man, including a three by Daniel and a layup by Young to tie the game. Madison would follow with a layup of their own to go up by two, but once again Richardson created opportunities, this time finding
Joe Gatziolis for an easy layup and Rettig in the corner for a three to give the Hawks the lead with 7:25 to go. Both teams would trade leads and ties for the next 6 minutes and Harper was able to keep their three-point lead after a free throw by Young with 15 seconds left. The game appeared to be over after Young intercepted a Madison pass at half-court, but he traveled to give Madison one more chance with 11 seconds to go. A defensive lapse by Harper allowed the WolfPack to hit a corner three at the buzzer to head into overtime tied at 70.
Corin Daniel once again gave the Hawks an early lead in the extra 5 minute period, but the WolfPack would again battle back and create a lead of their own. After Richardson found Petrella in the corner for a jumper, the Hawks were down 2 with 1:33 remaining. Gatziolis then went to work on a mismatch down low and made a strong move to tie the game at 77. With 54 seconds to go, Petrella stepped in and made a steal which led to a Young layup for a 2 point Harper lead. A missed three by Madison looked to end the game, but they were able to grab an offensive board and took advantage, hitting a jumper to tie the game with 19 seconds left. Jesse Young cut through the lane and missed a layup, but
Christian Rettig crashed the board for a put-back with under 5 seconds remaining. Madison would not be able to get off a shot as the buzzer sounded, giving the Hawks the 81-79 overtime win.
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Harper shot a season-high 55.7% from the field, including 43.8% from three.Â
Jesse Young led all scorers with 24 points while
Joe Gatziolis and
Corin Daniel added 19 and 16 points, respectively.Â
Sean Richardson made an impact on the offensive end. Despite only taking 1 shot, he had 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and a steal while committing only 2 turnovers.
With the win, the Hawks ended their 10-game losing streak and got their first conference win. The Hawks will take on the Joliet Junior College Wolves on Saturday in Joliet. Tip-off is scheduled for 3pm.
