JOLIET, ILL. - Top-seeded Madison College came up short in their bid for the program's first-ever
Region 4 Division III Men's Basketball Tournament Championship, falling 89-65 to #2-seed College of DuPage in the title game Sunday after winning Friday's semifinal over #4-seed Harper College by a 90-59 tally. Sophomore
Keith Hoffman and freshman
Deante Luster were both named to the Region 4 All-Tournament Team, and Hoffman scored a pair of late buckets in the season finale to become the program's fifth member in the 1,000-point club. The WolfPack ended the 2022-23 season with a 16-14 record.
Game #1 - Semifinal: (1) Madison College 90, (4) Harper College 59
Madison College made quick work of the Hawks in the day's first semifinal, racing out to a 7-0 lead in the team's third meeting in the past 17 days. The lead reached double-digits less than five minutes into the game when
Deante Luster made it 16-5 with a layup. A 15-2 surge capped by a
Nik Feller three-pointer pushed the differential to 33-11 before the half ended with a 48-20 lead for the Pack. Harper College (4-25) got as close as 24 points early in the second half before Madison College pushed the lead to beyond 30 for the remainder of the game.
Hoffman made 10 of 17 field goals and all four of his free throw attempts to reach a game-high 24 points and nine rebounds. Luster, who fell a rebound short of a triple-double in the last meeting with the Hawks, flirted with the accomplishment again, amassing 19 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. The freshman was 9 of 13 overall with a three-pointer, and also tallied three steals and a block.
Second year guard/forward
Nik Feller hit two of the team's four 3-pointers en route to 14 points and eight rebounds.
The WolfPack are a perfect 3-0 in postseason games with Harper College, and have strung together ten consecutive victories to reach a 21-10 edge in the all-time series.
Game #2 - Championship: (2) College of DuPage 85, (1) Madison College 69
Madison College and the College of DuPage (19-13) split their regular season series, with each team winning on the other's home floor. The rubbermatch at a neutral site stayed within a few possessions over the game's opening nine minutes. The Chaparrals then went on a 20-7 run to push their advantage to 36-20 with 4:08 to play in the half, which ended with a 13-point differential. A 16-6 start to the second half for COD brought the WolfPack deficit to a game-high 25 points with 13:15 to go, but Madison College regrouped and engineered a ten straight points. The Chaps answered with five points of their own and the WolfPack was never able to get inside of 15 from that point on.
Hoffman, a native of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, converted a layup with 1:21 to play to reach 1,000 points for his career, becoming the fifth player in Madison College men's basketball history to do so. He added another bucket late to finish his career with 1,003 points to rank fourth in school history. The 6'8" forward/center racked up 29 points on 9 of 15 shooting with one 3-pointer, and converted 10 of 14 free throws. His game-high 11 bounds marked his ninth double-double of the season.
Luster, a former Sun Prairie HS athlete, was the only other double-digit scorer for the WolfPack, reaching 11 points on a 4 of 9 effort from the floor and three free throws. He dished out a team-best seven assists, to go along with three boards and three steals. Four other Madison College players scored in the game, which was the fourth appearance in the Region 4 championship since joining the region in 2009-10.
Madison College was 25 of 49 (51%) overall, 3 of 13 (23%) from long range, and 16 for 22 (72%) at the free throw line. The WolfPack's 20 turnovers led to a 31-13 edge in second chance scoring for the Chaps, who advance to and will host the NJCAA Great Lakes District Championship.
The all-time series now stands at 17-15 in favor of Madison College, while the head-to-head postseason meetings are now even at 2-2.
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