Friday, February 28, 2014

Playoff Game Preview: Harper vs. Joliet

Men's Basketball: Tony Amarino 2013-14
Harper takes on Joliet tonight at College of DuPage. (Jim Cummins)
Joliet Stats

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. – The third-seeded Harper College men's basketball team squares off with second-seeded Joliet tonight at 7 PM in a Region IV Semifinal matchup on the campus of the College of DuPage.

The Hawks (17-13) topped Mid-Michigan Community College 82-76 on Wednesday night and meet a Wolves (20-10) squad that reached the semifinals via a bye.

Season Series

The two teams split their regular season meetings. Joliet won 72-56 on their home court on Jan. 8, and the Hawks put on an offensive show in a 100-75 win back on Feb. 1 at the Wellness & Sports Center.

Away from Home

Both teams have struggled mightily away from home this season, as Joliet is 5-10 on the road and Harper is 4-11 on road or neutral courts.

Hawk Notes

The Hawks are playing their best offensive basketball in February, scoring 81.6 PPG in eight games. They are shooting nearly 40 percent (74-of-186, 39.8 percent) from 3-point land this month.

Kevin Walsh (/St. Viator)'s 25-point game against Mid-Michigan was his ninth 20+ point game of the year. Walsh has canned 37 3-pointers in those nine games.

Key Wolves

Joliet features a balanced scoring attack with four players averaging 10 or more points a game, led by Deiondre Cunningham (14.8 PPG). Zoran Aresnovic (12.6 PPG), Leon Gray (11.7 PPG) and Justin Scanlan (10.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG) provide consistent scoring while Todd Brown (8.2 PPG) and Larry Moore (7.2 PPG) are also capable scorers.

Winner to the Championship   

The winner of tonight's game moves on face either top-seeded Rock Valley (25-5) or fifth-seeded DuPage (9-19) in the Region IV Championship at 3 PM Saturday. They play at 5 PM, prior to the Harper-Joliet game.

No comments:

Post a Comment