CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 8 Parkland men's basketball used a big second half, outscoring Rend Lake 46-24, to defeat the Warriors 75-57 and clinch the top seed in next week's Region 24 tournament. 22-3 on the season, the Cobras were led by sophomore guard Yaakema Rose Jr. with 27 points, six rebounds, two steals and two assists.
 
Enacting revenge on one of their three loses this season, a 70-67 defeat in Ina, Ill., on January 14, Parkland rebounded from down four at halftime to win by 18 over Rend Lake. The top seed in Region 24, the Cobras will face the winner of No. 4 Illinois Central and No. 5 Lincoln Land on Saturday, March 9, in East Peoria, Ill. Rend Lake and John Wood will be the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds with a coin flip determining who receives a bye to the semifinals. The two semifinal winners will face off at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 10.
 
Trailing 42-37 with 14:13 left in the game, Parkland went on a 10-0 run that turned the tide on Saturday. With Rend Lake still within five points, 56-51, with 5:06 remaining, the Cobras again scored double-digit unanswered points with a 12-0 run to clinch the victory. Aiding the late run were four straight layups from Jaden Coleman, Darin Bellinger and a pair from Rose Jr.
 
Scoring 20-plus points for the third time in the last three weeks, Rose Jr. scored the second most points this season by a Cobra with 27 points, just one shy of his season-high 28 points last Saturday at John Wood. Converting 10 of his 17 field goal attempts, and three of four from three, Rose Jr. also led the Cobras in rebounds (6) and tied with fellow guard Ty'Ohn Trimble with two steals.
 
Also scoring in double figures was freshman Jaden Coleman who provided 11 points on five-of-seven shooting off the bench. Coleman also grabbed five rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
 
Scoring 17 of his team-high 27 points in the opening half, Rose Jr. helped overcome a 31.4 first-half shooting percentage by Parkland. Despite the Cobras holding the lead for much of the first half, Rend Lake went on a 14-3 run to take a 29-22 lead with 1:39 remaining in the half. However, Rose Jr. went on a 7-0 run to end the half, including a tip-in at the buzzer, to bring the Cobras back to within four, 33-27, at halftime.
 
Prior to today's game, head coach Anthony Figueroa and staff honored four graduating sophomores: Yaakema Rose Jr., Ty'Ohn Trimble, Darin Bellinger and Mark Emmanuel Jr.
 
The top seed for the Region 24 tournament, Parkland will await the winner of Wednesday night's quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 seed Illinois Central and No. 5 seed Lincoln Land. The Cobras will face the winner next Saturday, March 9, at 1 p.m. central time in East Peoria, Illinois. Illinois Central is serving as the host for this year's regional with the Region 24 Championship at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 10.