The College of DuPage men’s basketball team hosted the Kishwaukee Kougars for the first game of their four-game home stand. COD started strong and never let up. Solid shooting by Greg Strong and Ramone Enis propelled the Chaps past the Kougars physical play style.
Coming into the contest, the Kougars had a 7-12 record and were on a five-game losing streak, including losses to Black Hawk College, Carl Sandburg College, Rock Valley College, Milwaukee Area Technical, and a three-point loss to Illinois Valley Community College. Kishwaukee’s last win came on Jan. 7,, when they took down Blackhawk Technical College. For COD, they are on a two-game losing streak after losses to Bryant & Stratton College and Joliet Junior College, with their last win being on Jan. 14, when they beat Wilbur Wright College (75-69).
COD’s Braylen Meredith won the tip, but the Chaps couldn’t score on the first possession. Kishwaukee couldn’t find the basket either. The game was scoreless for the first two and a half minutes until Meredith drove hard into the lane, got fouled, and made the basket for a three-point play. Greg Strong made a three-pointer the possession after to go up 6-0 in the early stages of the game. The Kougars scored a few baskets of their own, but the Chaps maintained the lead.
Strong made another three-point field goal, but a foul was called on Strong for attempting to draw contact with his leg. This resulted in the three-pointer being waved off. DuPage and Kiswaukee were trading points back and forth until Kishwaukee’s Keaudre Cooper suffered an injury to his leg and had to be carried off the court.
The Chaps couldn’t buy a foul in the paint and were on a little of a scoring drought. This ended when Strong made a contested three-pointer from the left wing to go up by four points (30-26). The Kougar’s Braxton Highbaugh made it a one-point game with a layup while getting fouled by Meredith (30-29). Ramone Enis then scored five straight, and COD ended the first half with a score of 35-29.
To start the second half, Charles Farrell scored six quick points for COD to bring the lead to 41-29. The Kougars went on a 7-0 run to get within five (41-36). The Chaps went on a little 5-0 thanks to a layup by Farrell and three free throws by Strong, which he made after getting fouled behind the 3-point line (46-36).
The Kougars kept finding ways to stay in the game and found themselves only down 5-points (49-44). COD had consecutive stops on defense, which led to DuPage slamming the door on the Kougars after going up by 14 points with 4:30 minutes left in the game. Terrance Spencer went coast-to-coast and slammed it home to solidify a 77-67 win.
COD men’s basketball coach Joe Kuhn praised his team for the flow of the game.
“I think it’s always good to get off to a quick start. One thing I like is that we had 21 assists, which means we’re moving and sharing the ball. Moe Enis had a great game for us on both sides of the ball; Terence Spencer came up with some good plays; Charles (Farrell) has been playing really, really good basketball for us.”
Enis said he’s been working on getting better at all aspects of the game.
“On defense, I take it personal; if I see my man running to the hoop, I feel like I let my team down,” Enis said. “On offense, I’ve been in a little shooting slump. I went to the Northwestern game and I saw that they play off two feet, and I’ve been trying to do that more and more in my game.”
Enis had 14 points on 83% shooting.
DuPage’s next match will be against the Rock Valley Golden Eagles at 7:00 PM on Feb 4.
