Box Score INA, Ill. – The Parkland men's basketball team came back to tie the game with just over two minutes to go on Tuesday night, but couldn't quite close to deal, losing to Rend Lake College 87-81. The Cobras suffer their first loss since February 5th. Josh Rivers (32 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) led Parkland's attack and Ty Lampley (9 points, 6 rebounds) provided a huge spark off the bench. This is the Cobras' first of three games in five days to end the regular season.
 
            Head coach Anthony Figueroa commended his team afterward, saying "I thought our guys battled their tails off and I'm proud of their effort. We will regroup and be ready for the next game."
 
In the opening five minutes, the Cobras (16-7) jumped out to an early 16-6 lead. The Warriors (13-13) slowly cut their deficit to 26-22 with 8:45 to go in the first half, before picking up a head of steam and taking a 40-33 lead into halftime. Parkland relied heavily on the three in the first half, going 7-15 from behind the arc.
 
The second half began with the Cobras climbing back to within four with 16:46 remaining, but the Warriors responded, taking a 63-52 lead with 11:20 left in the second half. Again, the Cobras began fighting their way back into the game, tying the contest at 79 with just over two minutes to go. A Josh Rivers steal on one end and a layup on the other gave Parkland an 81-79 lead with 1:33 left, but Rend Lake tied the game on their next trip down. The Warriors came into Tuesday's game on a five-game winning streak and were looking for revenge for a 76-70 loss to Parkland on November 10th in their second game of the season and with just 33 seconds remaining, the Warriors took an 83-81 lead over their regional rival. The Cobras turned the ball over on the next possession with 14 seconds left and the Cobras fell short of the Warriors, 87-81. Parkland went 17-19 (89%) from the free throw line and outrebounded Rend Lake, but it wasn't enough.
 
Scoring Summary:
Josh Rivers: 32 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Savon Wykle: 14 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists
Ty Lampley: 9 points, 6 rebounds
Sean Ealy: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Jamil Hardaway: 8 points
 
Up next, the Cobras travel to Quincy to play John Wood Community College on Thursday, February 24th. The conference matchup against the Blazers will tip-off at 5:30.