DIXON, ILL. - For the first time this season, the Madison College men's basketball team was held to under 100 points and it resulted in a 79-71 loss at NJCAA Division I Sauk Valley Community College on Tuesday night. The WolfPack, who had averaged 101.3 points per game through their first four contests of 2019-20, nearly rallied back from a 12-point halftime deficit and was led by freshman Allen Robinson's 21 points. The two programs have split their last six meetings, though the Skyhawks still own a 26-6 lead in the all-time series.

Sauk Valley Community College (3-2) grabbed the early lead with a 12-5 start and slowly built to a 19-9 advantage through 12-plus minutes of play. The deficit grew as high as 19 with 2:46 remaining in the half on a Skyhawks jumper that made it 32-13. However, the WolfPack closed the half with a 12-5 run that included back-to-back three-pointers from Robinson and Marcus Kartes, and were within 37-25 at the break.

The visitors continued to fight back and brought the differential to just eight after four minutes of the second half, but SVCC scored five quick points to regain the double-digit advantage. Inside of the final ten minutes, Madison College surged to close the gap to just five points a few times, with the first coming on a Jason Williams bucket with 9:22 to play and the last on a Davion Washington jumper at the 3:32 mark that made it 64-59. From that point on, the Skyhawks outscored the 'Pack by a 15-12 margin to win by eight.

For the second straight game, Robinson led Madison College in scoring with 21 points on 6 of 18 shooting overall and a pair of three-pointers. The guard from Goose Creek, South Carolina, also connected on 7 of 8 free throws, while collecting four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He currently leads the team with a 20.6 points per game average.

Former Madison East High School teammates and current sophomore guards Washington and Earl Lewis each added 13 points to the cause. Washington made half of the four field goals from beyond the arc and knocked down 3 of 4 at the charity stripe, to go along with a team-best four assists. Lewis came off the bench convert 5 of 9 field goal attempts and match a career-best 3 of 6 shots from long range. The season-high point total also came with a season-high rebound total of six.

Freshman forward Malcolm Reed was 3 for 8 from the floor and 4 for 5 at the line to secure his first double-digit scoring effort of the season with ten points. The former Barneveld, Wisconsin, native had a team-leading seven rebounds.

Madison College shot 31.9% (23-72) overall, 24.2% (8-33) outside the arc, and 65.4% (17-26) at the line, while committing the second their second fewest turnovers (12) in a game this season and boasting a 14-7 lead in points off turnovers. The Skyhawks controlled the glass with a 57-45 edge in rebounds, and thus owned a 17-6 differential in second chance points. However, the points in the paint category belonged to the WolfPack by a count of 28-16.

Up Next:

Madison College (3-2) will try to snap a two-game losing skid with a road game at NJCAA Division II Carl Sandburg College (4-0) on Saturday, November 16. The Chargers have won the only two prior meetings, earning an 89-77 victory last season in Madison and a 76-69 home decision in 2015. Tip off in Galesburg, Illinois, is at 3:00 p.m.

The game will be live streamed here.

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