Harper Loses to Rival DuPage, 76-70

Daily Herald Article

Davion Benton Dunk on ESPN.com

Davion Benton Dunk on SI.com

PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College men's basketball team closed to within four points in the closing minutes against rival College of DuPage on Wednesday night but ultimately lost 76-70 in the N4C contest inside the Wellness & Sports Center.

The Hawks (9-18, 2-9 N4C) trailed for most of the second half and by 11, 67-56, with 8:36 to play in the game but slowly crept back in the game. Davion Benton (Chicago, Ill. /Alcott College Prep)'s layup with 3:39 to play cut the Chapparals' (16-10, 6-5 N4C) lead to 69-65, but Jonny Woolf answered with a 3-pointer to put DuPage back up seven.

Admir Suljic (Chicago, Ill. /Lane Tech) (game-high 24 points, eight rebounds) put Harper within four again with a 3-pointer, but DeAndre Manuel's layup put DuPage up 74-68 with 1:10 to play. The Hawks would draw no close than to within five the rest of the way.

Benton scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. He also had a highlight reel dunk that was featured on ESPN.com and SI.com. (Jim Cummins)

Benton had a monster game for the Hawks with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Benton's dunk over a DuPage defender at the 17:45 mark of the first half was featured on ESPN.com and SI.com. Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) added 15 points (6-of-9 shooting) and seven rebounds. The Hawks shot 40 percent (26-of-65) in the game and outrebounded their opponents 40-37.

The Chapparal bench was a big factor in the win, scoring 53 points. Woolf led the way with 20 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, and Fredricks Joshua canned five 3-pointers and finished with 16 points in just 19 minutes of action. DuPage shot an impressive 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the second half and 46.7 percent (28-of-60) on the night.

The Hawks led for a good portion of the first half until Woolf's free throws tied it at 24-24 with 3:36 to play. The Chapparals took a 32-31 lead into halftime.

The Hawks play their next game on Saturday as they host Joliet Junior College (17-10, 3-8 N4C) at 3 PM.