Wilson Scores Season-High 24, but Chargers Drop Back-and-Forth Battle in Conference Opener
Aaron Frey
Thursday, January 9, 2020 9:49 PM
Athletics
Galesburg, IL
Freshman Jean Luc Wilson (East Moline, Ill./United Township) had a season-high 24 points, but Highland used a second-half surge to rally past the Carl Sandburg College men’s basketball team 96-86 on Thursday at John M. Lewis Gymnasium in a back-and-forth Arrowhead Conference opener for both teams.
The loss to the defending league champion Cougars (9-5) was the first in 10 home games this season for Sandburg (14-5). The contest featured seven ties and 10 lead changes.
KEY MOMENTS
- Sandburg raced to an early 16-3 lead, using 3-pointers from Wilson and sophomore guard Scott Gowan (Rockford, Ill./Rockford East). The Chargers still led by 13 near the midpoint of the first half before Highland used a 12-2 spurt to help take its first lead. The teams went into halftime tied at 41 after a trey at the buzzer by Highland’s JJ Flores.
- Gowan delivered a four-point play from the left corner to put Sandburg ahead 57-53 with 15:35 to go, but the Cougars answered with an 11-0 run that featured a trey from Flores and a pair of 3s from Alen Mustafic to take the lead for good.
- Sandburg got within 89-83 on a 3-pointer from Vaughn Toyne (Petersburg, Ill./PORTA) with 2:41 left, but Highland pushed back with five straight to extend its lead to double digits with under a minute to go.
SANDBURG STANDOUT
Wilson had 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, surpassing his previous best of 18 in Sandburg’s season opener. The freshman went 9 of 14 from the field, had a team-best four rebounds, handed out two assists and had three of the Chargers’ 15 steals on the night.
OTHER TOP CHARGERS
- Freshman forward Cody Baer (Dunlap, Ill./Dunlap) scored 19 on 8-of-13 shooting.
- Sophomore Noah Young (Colfax, Ill./Ridgeview) scored 16 while going 6 of 8 from the floor and battling cramping in his legs during the second half.
FOR THE COUGARS
- UNLV commit Nick Fleming scored a game-high 27 on 8-of-13 shooting and had seven assists
- Cam Burrell 16 points, 12 rebounds
UP NEXT FOR SANDBURG
11 a.m. Saturday vs. Knox JV
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