On Feb. 18 the College of DuPage hosted their annual breast and prostate cancer awareness night. Both men and women’s basketball teams finished the night with a win. COD holds the annual night in honor of the Chaparrals women’s basketball team’s head coach, Abigail Talley, being a stage three cancer survivor. The Lady Chaps defeated Harper College 66-26 earlier that evening. The men’s team held a lead over the Hawks all game in a heated match that saw a lot of fouls and flaring tempers on both sides.
Cameron Chandler of COD was a bright star for the Chaps, scoring a season-high 18 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. On the other side of the scoring desk is the Harper College Hawks. The Hawks are 5-23 this season and are on a two-game losing streak after falling to Rock Valley and Joliet Junior College.
Chandler won the tip for COD. Braylen Meredith called for the ball early as he had a smaller defender on him. Meredith took it to the paint for the basket while getting fouled. Meredith missed the free throw for the three-point opportunity, but Charles Farrell grabbed the rebound and put it back up for two (4-0). COD went up 9-0 after a three by Greg Strong and another layup by Farrell.
The Hawks took the top off the basket, thanks to a Sean Spencer layup (14-2). Harper scored on back-to-back trips from another easy layup by Vanja Mrduljas (16-6). The Hawks closed the gap after three straight possessions ending in threes by Joe Calombo Kimbirima and Andre Anderson (19-15).
The Chaps dominated the first half, but a few unfortunate bounces and defensive lapses by the Chaps made the score close. Strong pulled up from the end of the Chaparral logo at midcourt and banged a three to go up seven with 3:10 in the first half (34-27). The half ended with the Chaps up 35-27 after a made free throw by Chandler.
Anderson opened the second half scoring with a three-pointer, but Strong soon equalized it (38-30). The Chaps went on an 8-2 run to widen their lead to 14 (46-32). Both squads had a three-minute scoring drought halfway through the second half.
Korey Blan was single-handedly keeping Harper in the game. Blan made a tough jumper while getting fouled, making it an eight-point game (56-48). Strong attempted a layup, but Harper was called for goaltending and a foul (61-51).
At 1:47, Anderson shoved Meredith after Meredith made a layup, which led to a technical for Anderson. Following the initial technical, Anderson and Farrell began clapping in each other’s faces, which resulted in both Anderson and Farrell receiving additional technicals. Strong felt bad for Farrell and the technical party after what seemed like a misunderstanding between the ref and Strong. Strong and Farrell sat for the rest of the game.
COD finished up the game shortly after ending in a DuPage 68-56 win; the teams didn’t shake hands after the game and went to their respective locker rooms right away.
“We’ve been playing really good basketball here down the stretch; Cam Chandler has been a big difference for us with his size, defensive rebounding, and interior defense,” said Head Coach Joe Kuhn.
“It means a lot to me,” said Chandler. “Because I’m stepping up to my team and doing better for them and coming out and playing better.”
The DuPage team will play their final regular season game on Feb. 20, hosting Madison College at 7 p.m. COD beat Madison 77-69 on Feb. 15 in Madison.
