GALESBURG — The Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team took a lead into halftime against Arrowhead Conference leader Highland but dropped a 74-65 decision to the Cougars on Tuesday night at John M. Lewis Gymnasium.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Chargers (14-11, 2-4) trailed by five with 7:30 left in the first half before scoring 12 of the next 15 to grab the lead at 28-24. Atem Agot (East Moline, Ill./United scored eight points during the stretch, and Sandburg went on to take a 30-29 advantage into the locker room.
• A three-point play from Connor Barnett (Fulton, Ill./Fulton) gave the Chargers a 40-36 lead at 15:02, but Highland (14-9, 5-0) rattled off 12 unanswered points to go ahead for good.
• Eric Price (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) fed Barnett for a layup with under 3:00 left to bring Sandburg within 61-59, but Highland knocked down three 3-pointers down the stretch to hold off the Chargers’ upset bid.
SANDBURG STANDOUT
Barnett notched a season-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. He also contributed five rebounds and had a pair of steals. The freshman guard has scored in double figures in seven of Sandburg’s last nine contests. His previous best was 16 points on Jan. 15 at Joliet.
OTHER TOP CHARGERS
• Agot — 19 points, 6-12 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 steals
• Matt Williams (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame) — 10 points, 4-8 shooting, 6 rebounds
FOR THE KOUGARS
• Johnny Melvin — 24 points (19 in second half)
• Josh Morris — 15 points (11 in second half)
• Jeremy Baker — 11 points
UP NEXT FOR SANDBURG
7:30 p.m. Thursday at Black Hawk (no fans allowed)
SAUK VALLEY GAME RESCHEDULED
The Chargers’ game scheduled for Feb. 1 at Sauk Valley that was postponed has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 18.
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