CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 4 Parkland College men's basketball team battled conference rival Danville Area Community College to an 81-79 loss on Wednesday, January 17. The Cobras (16-2) held a two-point halftime lead over the Jaguars (9-6), but a physical second half saw the visitors take the lead and hand Parkland its first M-WAC loss of the season in a game that featured 15 ties and 11 lead changes. Sophomore Tye Banks led all scorers with 22 points in the Cobras' first home loss of the season.
 
"We need to have a better second half to close," coach John Bowler said after the game. "They had more energy than we did, they played physical, and the refs allowed them to do that, and it is what it is."
 
The lead traded hands early on, with both teams tied at 20 with 7:01 left in the first half. The Cobras called timeout at the 5:47 mark with a 24-20 advantage, and Parkland led by as much as 32-22 with 4:00 until halftime, but a 10-0 DACC run tied the game at 32 with 2:12 to go and forced the Cobras to call another timeout. Both offenses converted before halftime, and Parkland went into the break up 39-37. In the second half, the Jaguars showed an extra burst and took a 42-39 lead. The Cobras answered, leading 57-54 with 12:23 left when they took another timeout. DACC regained the lead and looked in control midway through the second half, extending its lead to 75-66 with 2:52 remaining – but a pair of Parkland offensive rebounds gave Drew Lewis Jr. a chance to cut the score to 75-71 with 1:59 to go. Another jumper from Lewis Jr. and two Brylan Phillips free throws closed the deficit to 77-75 with 33 seconds left, but the Cobras could not get any closer in the 81-79 loss.
 
"We have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball – that probably led to the run they had at the end of the first half," Bowler added.
 
Scoring Summary:
Tye Banks: 22 points, 8 rebounds
Drew Lewis Jr.: 18 points, 5 rebounds
Brylan Phillips: 17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Isaac Mapson III: 14 points, 7 rebounds
 
Up next, Parkland hits the road to take on John Wood Community College on Saturday, January 20. Tip-off versus the Blazers (9-6) is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. in Quincy, Illinois.