ROCKFORD, ILL. - Trying to close out the regular season with a win and some momentum towards to the postseason, the Madison College men's basketball team fell a little short Tuesday in a hotly contested 81-67 loss against former conference rival Rock Valley College. Freshman Deante Luster tallied 24 points to lead the WolfPack, who are still receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division III Poll, but struggled to score just six points over the game's final eight minutes after taking a 61-59 lead. Madison College and first year coach Jason Roscoe finish the regular season with a 15-13 record.

Luster, a guard/forward from Columbia, South Carolina, was feeling it early as he netted the first seven points for Madison College, giving the visitors a 7-2 lead. The advantage went back-and-forth over the game's first half, with the WolfPack pushing their lead to as much as six at 34-28 with less than four minutes to play. However, the Golden Eagles scored the next eight points to take a 36-34 lead into the break.

Rock Valley College was on top by seven within three minutes of the second half beginning, but six consecutive WolfPack points evened the score at 49-49. Cortez Telfered knocked down a triple to put the Pack up 52-51, and a few minutes later freshman Peter Gustafson's and-1 play gave Madison College a 61-59 advantage with 8:09 remaining. RVC took over from there, using a 9-0 run to key an even bigger 22-6 surge to pull away down the stretch.

When it was all said and done, the two teams played through nine ties and 13 lead changes. Rock Valley College held narrow leads in points off turnovers (18-11), second chance points (9-2), and total rebounds (32-27). Madison College finished 27 of 58 (46%) overall, 7 of 23 (30%) outside the arc, and 6 for 8 (75%) at the stripe.

Luster's 24 points included 16 in the first half and was the result of a 10 for 17 shooting effort with one 3-pointer and three free throws. It's his fifth game with 20 or more points, with four coming in the last nine outings. The former Sun Prairie HS athlete also led the WolfPack with eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

Keith Hoffman registered 13 points after hitting three of the team's seven 3's. He finished 5 of 16 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds, while also blocking two shots. The sophomore forward/center now sits at 950 points and 475 rebounds for his career.

The end result gives Rock Valley College (18-11) a 37-18 edge in the all-time series.

Up Next:

Madison College (15-13) opens the 2023 NJCAA Region 4 Division III Men's Basketball Tournament as the top overall seed and will take on #4-seed Harper College (4-23, 0-8) on Friday, February 24 at 6:00 p.m. in Joliet, Illinois. The meeting will mark the third postseason get-together between the two programs, and the first such since the 2010-11 season. Madison College has won both prior postseason games with the Hawks and is 20-10 all-time with nine consecutive victories. The winner will advance to Sunday's 3:30 p.m. championship game against the winner of the other semifinal between #2-seed College of DuPage (17-13, 4-4) and #3-seed Joliet Junior College (8-18, 3-5). 

  

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