MADISON, WISC. - After a closely played first half, the Madison College men's basketball team dominated Gogebic Community College in the second half Thursday to earn an 85-60 victory inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. Sophomore Keith Hoffman and freshman Deante Luster each amassed more than 20 points in the win, which evens the all-time series at 20 wins each and gives the WolfPack four wins in the last five meetings.

A competitive first half opened with Gogebic Community College (10-11) being on top for most of the first eight minutes before the teams traded leads and ties until Deante Luster's jumper with 10:38 to play in the half made it 19-17 in favor of the WolfPack. That shot ignited an 8-0 run as Madison College built an eight-point advantage on three different occasions before settling for a 41-36 edge at the break.



The second half proved to be a much different story. The Samsons tallied the first three points to get within a basket, but the WolfPack responded in a big way with a massive 33-7 surge that included scoring runs of nine, 13, and nine. The advantage reached it's peak at 78-49 with five minutes to play.

Madison College controlled the paint with a 44-22 differential in interior scoring, and generated a 13-2 margin in second chance points off an impressive rebounding tally of 44-18. The WolfPack shot 57% (30-52) to mark their second-best single-game shooting percentage this season. They also made 4 of 12 (33%) from long range and 21 of 28 (75%) at the free throw line.

Hoffman led all scorers with 25 points, giving the 6'8" forward/center nine games with at least 20 points this season. The native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, was an efficient 12 of 15 overall and 1 for 2 beyond the arc. He also nabbed 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double. 

Luster, a former Sun Prairie HS athlete, made 8 of 14 field goals, 1 of 4 three-pointers, and 5 of 7 free throws to reach 22 points. The second-highest scoring game for Luster this season also featured six rebounds, and two assists. 

Also in double-figures was second year guard/forward Nik Feller with 13 points, to go along with seven boards.

Up Next:

Madison College (10-10, 1-2) will play it's third consecutive home game this week on Saturday, January 28 when they host in-state foe UW-Baraboo. The WolfPack is 31-4 all-time against the Fighting Spirits. The teams have not played since a pair of meetings in the 2008-09 season. Tip off is set for 3:00 p.m. inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium and can be live streamed at MadisonCollege.tv.

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