EAST PEORIA, Ill. – No. 18 Parkland College Men's Basketball (11-6, 6-3) defeated Illinois Central College (3-11, 2-8) by the final score of 63-53.
The Cobras led by as many as 5 points, and trailed by as many as 4, in a back-and-forth first half of play. When the buzzer sounded at the break, Illinois Central held a 25-24 edge.
As play resumed, Parkland began to maintain a slight advantage, and that grew to ten points, 46-36, midway through the second half. The Cougars were able to close the gap to four but were never able to get any closer.
Josh Rivers (14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) led all scorers, as
Savon Wykle (11 points, 4 rebounds) and
Sean Ealy (10 points, 3 rebounds) also scored in double digits.
Kelvin Swims (7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals) and
Kamari Kenemore (5 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) combined for half of the Cobras' 8 steals, as the defense forced 22 turnovers. Rivers and Kenemore combined for 10 of the Cobras' 15 assists.
Rivers and Jamil Hadaway (6 rebounds) led the way in rebounds.
Up next, Parkland travels to Ina, Ill., to play a non-conference game against Rend Lake College on Thursday, March 25. Tip-off is scheduled at 6:00 pm.
