INA, Ill. - Rend Lake College's 71-65 win over #9 Lincoln Land tonight in Ina means the Warriors live to fight another day in the NJCAA DII Region XXIV Tournament. Rend Lake, the 8-seed, will face #1 Lincoln College at noon, Saturday, at Shawnee College in Ullin, Ill.
The Loggers (7-24) stuck with a zone defense most of the game against the Warriors tonight. It forced sophomore guards Jimmy Abraham (Katy, Texas) and Reggie Reed (St. Petersburg, Fla.), as well as freshman guard Dustin Winter (Pinckneyville, Ill.), to hit the mark from beyond the arch. They answered brilliantly, hitting 10 of 18 from three-point range and combining for 50 of The Lake's 71 total points.
Freshmen Isaiah Cunningham (Eldorado, Ill.) and James Pope (Gainesville, Fla.) pitched in eight and seven, respectively, and Edrie Brodie Jr. (Newark, N.J.) scored five for RLC.
"I didn't think we played real well," RLC Head Coach Tim Wills said. "It's a tough team to play against. They cause us some matchup problems because they have so many guards."
The Loggers started four guards and lone forward Devin Wells (Centralia, Ill.). Sophomore guard Marcus Lewis (Madison, Ill.) didn't miss a shot until the second half and led all scorers with 20; and sophomore guard Carlton Westbrook, a graduate of Centralia High School, scored 15 of his 17 total points in the second half.
"I didn't think our intensity was where it needed to be most of the night," Wills added. "Midway into the second half, we got where we needed to be and pulled away, so that was a positive sign."
The Warriors grew a slim 27-25 halftime lead to go ahead by double digits late into the second half. Reed and Abraham combined to go 63 percent from the free throw line when Lincoln Land started fouling in the final minute and change. The Loggers pulled to within three points in the final two minutes, but couldn't catch the Warriors.
"They played well," Wills said of Reed and Abraham, who led the team with 19 each. "And in a game like this, you expect the sophomore guys to step up. Hopefully some of the guys who didn't play well tonight will on Saturday."
Sophomores EJ Randolph (Mt. Vernon, Ill.), who is averaging 12 points a game, and Sotiris Psyrris - just under 11 ppg - were kept scoreless tonight by the Loggers. Wills said everyone on his team will need to produce against the next Lincoln. RLC lost twice to the Lynx of Lincoln College in the regular season - 79-76 at home and 73-67 on the road.
"Lincoln is the number one seed so they are going to be a good team. We played them close both times this season. We will have to play much better than we did tonight if we are going to have any success against them."
RLC finished the regular season at 8-20 and 2-14 in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference, and is now 1-0 in the postseason. Other matchups Saturday at Ullin include #4 Shawnee and #5 Danville Area at 2 p.m., #2 Lewis and Clark and the winner of #7John Wood and #10 Spoon River at 4 p.m., and #3 Illinois Central and #6 Parkland at 6 p.m. Two teams will advance from the tournament to the NJCAA DII National Championships. RLC is in the top half of the bracket with Lincoln, Shawnee and Danville.
For all things athletic at RLC, visit the college online at www.rlc.edu/warriors.
NJCAA DII REGION XXIV TOURNAMENT
Lincoln Land Loggers @ Rend Lake Warriors
3/3/10
LLCC 25 65 - Westbrook 4 3-4 17, Koger 1 0-0 11, Lewis 10 0-0 20, Comer 1 0-0 2, Wells 0 0-3 6, Adams 2 0-2 4, Williams 1 0-0 5. Team fouls 15. Three pointers 8 (Westbrook 2, Koger 3, Wells 2, Williams).
