MADISON, WISC. - Aside from a five-minute stretch in the first half Saturday at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium, the Madison College and Rock Valley College men's basketball teams went shot-for-shot with each other. The WolfPack would suffer an 87-73 setback despite a 22-point effort off the bench from sophomore Earl Lewis. A second straight loss for the 'Pack drops them to 16-33 all-time against the Golden Eagles, who have won five straight in the head-to-head series.

Leading 6-2 after a Jason Williams three-pointer, Madison College would make just one more basket over the next five-plus minutes as the Golden Eagles went on an 18-3 run to grab an early double-digit lead. The rest of the first half saw the WolfPack close within six and Rock Valley College (11-7, 2-0) lead by as much as 15 before taking a 50-36 differential into the locker room. Over the final 20 minutes, both teams would score 37 points and the margin of separation hovered between 13 and 22. Midway through the half, Lewis knocked down one of his four 3-pointers to make it 62-49, however, RVC answered with three consecutive long-range shots to extend it to 71-49. After a brief 6-0 run from the 'Pack, the two rivals exchanged baskets for the final nine minutes.



Lewis, who scored 22 points at Rochester CTC in late-November, matched his career-best total on 8 of 17 shooting with four triples and two free throws. The Madison, Wisconsin, native, who was also one of five players to reel in five rebounds, now owns five games with double-digit scoring this season.

Four other players reached the ten-point threshold for Madison College. Freshman forward Jason Williams tallied 15 points and five rebounds, as he went 6 of 13 from the floor with a pair of three-pointers and free throw. It was his 11th game overall and fourth straight in double-figures.

The trio of sophomore Shamar Newman, and freshmen Marcus Kartes and Malcolm Reed each contributed ten points a piece. Newman had three baskets and four free throws, while Reed converted 5 of 11 shots overall. Both also had five boards, with Newman dishing out three assists, as well. Kartes made two of his three baskets from beyond the arc and was 2 for 2 at the free throw line.



Sophomore Davion Washington had a team-high seven assists, to go along with six points and five rebounds.

Madison College finished the game with five more rebounds and two fewer turnovers, and owned scoring advantages of 15-9 in points off turnovers, 10-5 in second chance points, and 34-24 in points in the paint. 

Up Next:

Madison College (7-8, 0-2), winless in its first two N4C games for the first time since 2017-18, is on the road Wednesday, January 8 to face off with Harper College (1-16, 0-2). The WolfPack has won three straight and eight of the past ten meetings with the Hawks en route to a 14-10 lead in the all-time series. Tip off is at 7:00 p.m. in Palatine, Illinois. 

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