CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 4 Parkland College men's basketball team closed out the Parkland Thanksgiving Classic with an 86-68 win over Olive-Harvey College on Sunday, November 26. The Cobras (9-0) took advantage of a cold first half from the Panthers (0-5), taking an 18-point lead into halftime and holding off a late charge to win their ninth straight game. Redshirt sophomore Grant Coleman led all scorers with 22 points, going 4-7 from three, and the Mahomet native grabbed 12 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season. Parkland outrebounded Olive-Harvey 46-39 and produced 22 assists in the win.

"I'm proud of our guys for closing out both games this weekend strong," head coach John Bowler said after the win. "We played two teams with different styles of play and were able to adjust well."

"Moving forward, we really need to do a better job of keeping our foot on the gas. We've had big leads in both games and allowed our opponents to make runs. It's something that we will need to address," Bowler added.
 
Both offenses started strong, but an 11-2 Cobra run gave Parkland an 18-10 lead following a Brylan Phillips three-pointer with 11:38 remaining in the first half. The Cobras continued to pull away, forcing an Olive-Harvey timeout with 2:05 until halftime, trailing 40-21. Parkland finished the first half on a 10-4 run, and the Cobras led 43-25 at the break. The Panthers battled back in the second half, cutting the deficit to 48-36 on a pair of free throws with 15:44 to go. Parkland sophomore Ken Sallee buried a three with 11:34 on the clock to push the lead to 60-38 – but Olive-Harvey responded quickly, trimming the lead to 62-48 and calling a timeout with 8:24 remaining. The Panthers picked up the pace down the stretch, pressing and getting out on fast breaks, but the Cobras kept their cool, maintaining a 76-64 lead when Olive-Harvey called timeout with 2:55 left. Parkland did not miss a shot in the final four minutes, pulling away for an 86-68 win.
 
Scoring Summary:
Grant Coleman: 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks
Isaac Mapson III: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists
Brylan Phillips: 10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
Tye Banks: 10 points, 5 rebounds
JaMonte Williams: 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
 
Up next, Parkland welcomes Wabash College JV to Champaign on Thursday, November 30. Tip-off against the Little Giants is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at the Donald C. Dodds Jr. Athletic Complex.