(Sugar Grove, IL.) – Waubonsee Community College's men's basketball team handed Ancilla (IN.) College its' first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon in Erickson Hall Gymnasium. On the strength of their three-point shooting the Chiefs (5-1) extended their winning streak to five games by downing the Chargers 93-71 in the final game of the 2024 Chiefs' Classic Invitational. Waubonsee hit 15 three-point baskets en route to booking a win over a top 35 team. The Chargers (7-1), from Plymouth, Indiana, nailed nine three-point baskets of their own but could not keep pace with the Chiefs. In the first game on Saturday afternoon Joliet Junior College (5-3) trounced Sandburg College (4-5) 91-69.
Tim Taiwo buried a three-pointer to get the Chiefs started in the opening minute. Zachariah Hayslett drilled a triple from the top of the key a couple minutes later to give the Chiefs a 7-4 lead before Ancilla's Ashton Oviedo quickly tallied an equalizer a moment later to knot the score. Taiwo connected on another long range shot to even the score at 10 after seven minutes of play. The game went back and forth over the next several minutes until the Chiefs suddenly caught fire from beyond the arc. James Parker splashed a pair of three-pointers around a triple by Chris Rhoades over a one-minute span to give Waubonsee a 25-17 lead with nine minutes to go until halftime. Two minutes later Parker drilled another trey as the Chiefs built a 33-23 lead. A slick up and under move by Pat Robinson for a basket then made it 38-28 with five minutes left until intermission. Aboubacar Sidibe connected on another three from the right corner to extend Waubonsee's lead to 13 points shortly thereafter. Following an Ancilla turnover Taiwo hit another long range shot to give the Chiefs a 44-28 lead. Hayslett then gave Waubonsee its biggest lead at 48-30 when he dropped in a running one-hander with a minute to go. Malik Petty capped off a terrific first half shooting display by the home team when he knocked down the Chiefs' 10th three-point basket to help Waubonsee take a 51-34 lead into the break.
As the second half began the Chiefs picked up where they left off with Hayslett and Taiwo connecting from long range to put Waubonsee in front 59-36. The Chiefs maintained at least a 20-point lead until Ancilla started to find their touch from long range, cutting the deficit to 15 points eight minutes into the second half. However, the Chiefs responded as Sidibe scored in traffic to push the lead back up to 20 points a minute later. A fast break lay-in by Parker off a feed from Sidibe gave Waubonsee a 71-50 lead with seven minutes to go. A moment later the Chiefs took their biggest lead of the game up to that point when Dimetrius Butler tallied a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 74-50. Waubonsee increased its lead to 26 points with five minutes to go and kept the Chargers at bay by converting 13 free throws in the second half. The Chiefs' JJ Strojinc capped things off with a final trey from the left corner with 0:20 remaining.
Hayslett paced Waubonsee with 19 points and three blocked shots. Sidibe booked a double-double scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds from his point guard position. Taiwo finished with 16 points and six boards, while Parker chipped in with 13 points and Petty contributed 11 points in the win. Waubonsee is in action again this coming Monday, November 25 when they host Milwaukee Area (WI) Technical College beginning at 7:30 p.m. The women's game between the Stormers and Chiefs is set to tip off at 5:30 p.m. that evening in Sugar Grove.