MADISON, WISC. - A physical and tough brand of basketball led the Madison College men to a hard-fought 80-75 home victory over the Loras College JV on Thursday night inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium, marking their second win in their last five outings. Freshman Justin Pleasant notched his second consecutive double-double, and was one of three players to notch career-high points totals in leading the WolfPack past the Duhawks. Madison College now leads the all-time series by a 4-1 tally.

Loras College came out hot from outside the arc, making four 3-pointers to build a 16-10 lead in the game's first eight minutes. The WolfPack answered right back with a 10-0 run that eventually led to a 27-19 advantage when sophomore Peter Gustafson drained the team's only three-pointer of the game. Freshman Brian Gould hit a long step-back two as the clock neared the end of a fast first half with the home team leading 41-33. 



Pleasant began to take control in the second half, which opened with a layup from the 6'5" forward to push the advantage into double-digits. That lead, however, would eventually disappear as Loras College went on top 60-59 midway through the half. Tied at 63-63 with less than eight minutes to play, the WolfPack used a pair of Gustafson free throws and back-to-back buckets by Pleasant to assume a 69-63 edge. After the Duhawks again closed to within a point, Gould knocked down another tough jumper for a three-point differential. Madison College finished the game with a 7 for 8 effort from the free throw line and one more basket from Pleasant.

Pleasant scored 18 of his career-high 20 points in the second half, and finished 8 of 15 from the field and a perfect 4 for 4 at the stripe. The native of Beaumont, Texas, also secured ten rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

While Pleasant owned the second half, fellow first year Romelle Bell dropped ten of his career-best 17 in the first half. He sank 8 of 13 shots and hit a late free throw, while also producing six boards, five assists, and four steals.

Gustafson, a native of Monticello, Wisconsin, added a 15 points off the bench, with more than half coming on a perfect 8 for 8 effort at the line. Monte Mayberry, a sophomore transfer from Cardinal Stritch University, converted 5 of his 16 attempts and both free throws to tally a career-high dozen points.

Gould led the team with ten assists, also establishing a new individual bench mark.

Madison College was nearly perfect as a team at the free throw line, sinking 15 of 16 (93%) attempts to help off-set a tough 1 for 13 (7%) performance from distance. The game, however, was decided in the interior as the WolfPack were 32 of 69 (46%) overall, owned a resounding 44-22 differential in points in the paint, and took advantage of a 41-28 differential in rebounding to produce a 14-6 lead in second chance points.

Up Next:

Madison College (5-4) returns to Region 4 competition on Saturday with a road trip to Kishwaukee College (3-7). While the WolfPack have won seven straight in the head-to-head series, the Kougars still own a 16-9 lead all-time. Game time in Malta, Illinois, is set for 3:00 p.m. and can be streamed live here.

Follow WolfPack men's basketball: Facebook | Twitter