Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Parkland men's basketball team took the lead with just under nine minutes to go and escaped Springfield with a 61-60 win over Rend Lake College in the Region 24 Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. The top-seeded Cobras were led by a balanced attack, with three players leading the way with 10 points. Parkland will face John Wood on Sunday, March 6th for the Region 24 Championship, and an automatic bid in the NJCAA National Tournament.
 
The Cobras (19-7) found themselves in a defensive battle in the first half and, despite having a two-point lead with a minute to go, found themselves trailing 26-24 at halftime. Both defenses remained relentless to start the second half and the Warriors (14-14) extended their lead all the way to 10 points with 13:16 left, but the Cobras responded with a 15-4 run spanning just 4:14 of gametime to retake the lead 46-45, with 8:21 remaining. Parkland split its regular season series with Rend Lake, with each team winning at home. The Cobras defeated the Warriors 76-70 in Champaign back on November 10th and the Warriors got revenge in an 87-81 game in Ina on February 22nd. Rend Lake tied the game up at the free throw line with just under three minutes to play, but Marcus Johnson scored at the 2:02 mark to give Parkland a lead that they would not give up for the rest of the game. Two late free throws from Sean Ealy sealed the deal and the Cobras advanced with a 61-60 win over the Warriors in an exciting Region 24 matchup.
 
 
Scoring Summary:
Savon Wykle: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
A'Kieon Gill: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Jordan Jenkins: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Sean Ealy: 9 points
Josh Rivers: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
 
Up next, the Cobras face off against conference rival John Wood Community College in the Region 24 Championship game. Tip-off against the Blazers is scheduled for Sunday, March 6th at 2pm in Springfield.