Sandburg Men Get Votes in First NJCAA Rankings of 2020
Aaron Frey
Tuesday, January 7, 2020 9:09 AM
Athletics
Galesburg, IL
The Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team was among others receiving votes in the first NJCAA Division II rankings of 2020, released Monday afternoon.
The Chargers (14-4), who blew out Eureka JV 84-49 on Monday night to improve to 9-0 at home, earned a single point in the voting and were one of seven teams just outside the top 20. Sandburg has received votes in six of the seven polls during the regular season.
Half of the Chargers’ losses have come on the road to teams ranked in the top 10 this week. Sandburg lost at No. 2 Milwaukee Area Tech on Nov. 23 and at No. 9 South Suburban on Friday. The Chargers’ four defeats have come against opponents with a combined record this season of 52-15.
The Chargers rank sixth in the nation defensively, allowing just 63.7 points per game. Sandburg also rates eighth nationally in 3-point shooting (38.3 percent) and 12th in free-throw shooting (72.5 percent).
Through Monday, sophomore guard Scott Gowan (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East) has connected on 53.7 percent of his 3s this season, good for seventh in NJCAA Division II. Gowan’s 44 total treys rank 16th in the country. Freshman guard Brock Bower-Preece (Mapleton, Ill./Illini Bluffs) has a 4.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is seventh nationally, and sophomore forward James Jones (Springfield, Ill./Lanphier) is 10th in the country with 39 steals.
Sandburg’s next contest is 7:30 p.m. Thursday at home against Highland as the Chargers open their Arrowhead Conference schedule.
NJCAA DIVISION II MEN’S BASKETBALL RANKINGS FOR JAN. 6
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