QUINCY, Ill. - The No. 20 Parkland men's basketball team (19-5, 4-1 MWAC) won its 4th conference game, 74-68, over John Wood CC (11-14, 3-2 MWAC).
 
The Cobras were sloppy at the start, allowing the Blazers to take a quick 17-10 lead by the 12-minute mark. Parkland could get no closer than 7 points and trailed at the half, 22-33. At that point, the Cobras had committed 9 turnovers and were shooting 29% from the floor, including 18% from 3-point range. The defense, however, was strong, holding the Blazers to similar numbers, 34% from the floor and 20% from deep. Carter Jeffries (24 points, 7 rebounds) had 8 points and 6 rebounds at that time, while Joey Saracco (8 points, 7 rebounds) had scored 6.
 
A quick put-back bucket by Charles Campbell Jr. sparked a Parkland surge to open the second half. John Wood was forced into two timeouts on their first two possessions, and the Cobras answered with a Carter 3-pointer and back-to-back 3-pointers from Noah Persich (12 points, 4 rebounds). At the 17-minute mark, the Blazers lead was down to three, 36-33.
 
John Wood fought back, but a spectacular Campbell Jr. dunk sparked another Parkland run. Back-to-back pull-up jumpers from Jeffries, assisted by great hustle and offensive rebounding from Kamari Kenemore (11 points, 6 rebounds), forced the Blazers to call another timeout at 11:30. Shortly after that break, with the score 47-48, Kenemore missed a shot but secured his own rebound, converting it to give Parkland its first lead. A 7-2 Cobras run produced a 4-point lead with 6 minutes remaining. The Blazers tied it at 54, but Parkland scored 9 of the next 12 points, providing a cushion that held until the final buzzer.
 
The Cobras received additional output from Bruno Williams Jr. (10 points, 8 rebounds). Kenemore, whose production came from off the bench, ended the game 4-5 from the floor, including 2-2 from behind the arc.
 
Up next, the Cobras will be in East Peoria, Ill., to take on Illinois Central College, on Wednesday, February 19th, at 7:30 pm.