The College of DuPage men’s basketball team had a slow start against Harper College on Jan. 30 at home, falling behind early in the first half. The Chaparrals turned up the heat through the last 10 minutes of the first half, scoring 34 points to the Hawks’ 18. After pushing Harper offensively and never losing the lead through the second half, COD won 88-71 to make their record 14-10.
“It took us a while to get going,” assistant men’s basketball coach Eric Garcia said. “The first six or seven minutes in the first half were slow. It almost felt like the last couple of games that we dropped. Obviously, we got a good groove going and took care of business at the end. It was a little close to start, but I think we finished exactly how we wanted to.”
Freshman forward Braylen Meredith led the team with 23 points and made four total rebounds. Meredith also picked up four assists, two blocks and two steals. He said after suffering two losses last week, the team needed to perform well against Harper.
“I feel like we executed on a lot of levels,” Meredith said. “We had a few bad games [previously] so we knew we had to come out playing hard. We kind of lacked at the beginning of the game, but we picked it up and put them away.”
Freshman guard Greg Strong racked up 17 points and five total rebounds. He also recorded four assists, two steals and one block. Strong said the team found success through quick passing and ball movement.
“We moved the ball well,” he said. “Everybody touched the ball. We pushed in fast [to get breakaways] and stuff like that, so we got a lot of dunks.”
Freshman guard Quentin Schaffer tallied 14 points and four total rebounds. He also added four assists, one block and one steal. He explained how the Chaps fought back early to take control of the game.
“We just picked up our energy and started hitting some shots,” Schaffer said. “We were able to get the lead back and then we just stretched our lead. We have to get our blood [pumping] before we really start running, giving our energy.”
Freshman forward John Kurysz secured 13 points and put up six total rebounds. He also made two steals and one block. He expressed how it felt to show up for the team after not seeing big minutes throughout the season.
“I think this was my best game of the season so far,” Kurysz said. “I was playing a lot more fearless and more comfortable out there. I was less worried about making mistakes and was able to focus on making plays and getting a win for my team.”
Both Garcia and head men’s basketball coach Joe Kuhn served as coaches for Joliet Junior College before coaching at COD. Garcia touched on the goal for the game and the excitement of facing their previous team.
“We play Joliet tomorrow; that’s [Kuhn’s and my] alma mater, so we’re excited for that battle,” he said. “We’re looking to prove a point. We want to come in and see what we can do.”
The Chaparrals take on the Joliet Junior College Wolves at 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 at Klaas Court.
