Box Score DANVILLE, Ill. – The Parkland men's basketball team faced heavy pressure all morning from No. 9 seed Allen County Community College, but the No. 13 seeded Cobras battled hard and came out on top in an exciting 69-65 win in the NJCAA Consolation Bracket. The Cobras led by as much as 11 in the second half, but the Cobras went cold from beyond the arc and the Red Devils cut their lead to two points with 25 seconds to go. Sean Ealy and A'Kieon Gill hit some very important free throws down the stretch on Friday to help the Cobras advance to the 7th place game on "Championship Saturday."
 
When asked about playing in the Consolation Bracket Championship, head coach Anthony Figueroa teased, "Hey, we get to play on Championship Saturday, that's the bottom line. Whatever they want to call it…, I'm fine with it."
 
The Cobras (22-8) had a slow start in the early morning game, falling behind 8-0 to begin the game. The team trailed 13-4 with 16:40 to go in the first before Savon Wykle hit a jumper and Sean Ealy and A'Kieon Gill hit back-to-back threes in a quick 8-0 run. The Cobras tied the game up with the Red Devils (28-7) at 14-14 with 14:17 remaining in the first, before a Marcus Johnson layup gave Parkland the lead. While the Red Devils turned up the full-court press, the Cobras calmly took an 11-point, 33-22 lead with 3:20 left in the first. Allen County closed the half on a 7-2 run and Parkland went into the break ahead 35-29.
In the second half, the Cobras against stretched their lead out to 11 with 13:52 to go at the first media timeout. Allen County's press started to work, however, and the Red Devils cut the Parkland lead down to 53-45 at the next media timeout with 7:25 left in the second half. Both teams were trading buckets and the game looked to be in hand with the Cobras up 63-56 with 1:23 remaining, but a Red Devil layup, steal and three pointer suddenly cut Parkland's lead to just 63-61. With Sean Ealy at the line and 25 seconds to go, the Cobras needed the sophomore to deliver, and he did, hitting both. The Red Devils quickly went coast to coast for a layup and Allen called a timeout, now trailing 65-63. Out of the timeout, Jamil Hardaway got an open look to fall for his first basket of the game, but again the fast Red Devils were able to score, this time with just five seconds to go. Allen County, trailing 67-65, fouled on the inbounds pass and sent A'Kieon Gill to the free throw line. The sophomore transfer hit them both to seal the deal and give Parkland the 69-65 win.
 
"We found a way to win, that's all it's about right now," Figueroa said after the win. "We did just enough today against a good Allen team."
 
Scoring Summary:
Sean Ealy: 17 points, 5-6 FT, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
A'Kieon Gill: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Josh Rivers: 11 points, 5-5 FG, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
Savon Wykle: 9 points
Marcus Johnson: 7 points, 4 rebounds
 
Up next, the Cobras advance to the 7th place game and the Consolation Bracket Championship. Parkland will matchup against the winner of No. 10 seed Niagara County and No. 14 seed Dakota County Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM on Saturday, March 19th at the Mary Miller Gymnasium in Danville, Illinois.