CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 18 Parkland College Men's Basketball (10-6, 5-3) was unable to put away the second top-20 team it faced in a five-day span, falling, 74-83, to No. 13 Spoon River College (14-5, 8-0).
After trailing 0-3, Parkland scored nine straight to take an early 9-3 lead, but the Snappers came back to even things up at 21 by midway through the period. In the next several minutes, the lead changed hands a couple of times, but neither team was able to gain a significant advantage. The Cobras did end the half on an 8-3 run, giving them a modest, 43-38, margin going into the locker rooms.
The teams played even during the first part of the second half, and with 15:00 on the clock, Parkland was still up, 50-45. Spoon River made a small run and tied the game at 52, and it was again tied at 54 with just over ten minutes to play. At that point, the Snappers scored 9 straight points, jumping out to a 63-54 lead. The Cobras were able to pull to within 5 points, a couple of times, but Spoon River met the challenge and ultimately maintained the final margin of nine.
Kelvin Swims (17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists),
Josh Rivers (14 points, 4 rebounds), and
Jordan Burge (12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) led the offense for Parkland, each scoring in double figures.
Savon Wykle (9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) and
Sean Ealy (6 points) combined for an additional 15.
Swims,
Kevin Bishop II (5 rebounds), Rivers, and
Deonte Douglas (4 rebounds) combined for 20 rebounds, helping Parkland edge the Snappers on the boards, 34-28.
Spoon River made 25 free throws, compared to only 11 for the Cobras.
Up next, Parkland travels to East Peoria, Ill., to play Illinois Central College on Sunday, March 21. Tip-off is scheduled at 3:00 pm.
