MADISON, WISC. - Trailing by 15 in the first half, the Madison College men's basketball team rallied to gain a late lead before controlling the overtime session in an 85-77 win over Joliet Junior College in a North Central Community College Conference and Region 4 battle Thursday inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium. Five players scored in double-figures for the WolfPack, who boast a season-high four-game win streak. It is just the second time Madison College has swept the regular season series with JJC, however, the Wolves still lead the all-time series by a 27-10 margin.

Joliet Junior College (6-16, 2-5) jump out early with an 8-2 lead, and slowly worked their way to a game-high 15-point advantage after a three-pointer with 6:54 to play in the half made it 32-17. The deficit remained in double-digits at 39-28 after the WolfPack made just 9 of 26 shots, committed eight turnovers, and were outrebounded by five in the first 20 minutes.

Sophomore Nik Feller canned a three-pointer over a minute into the second half to trigger a 10-0 that closed the gap to four. The Pack stayed within shouting distance until second year forward/center Keith Hoffman buried a long range shot to tie that game at 59-59 with 5:48 to play. Madison College maintained a narrow lead over the next five minutes. A pair of Hoffman free throws with 23 seconds remaining gave Madison College a 71-68 advantage, however, JJC came down and sunk a game-tying three-pointer. The WolfPack still had an opportunity with a baseline inbounds under their own basket and 1.6 seconds on the clock, but Hoffman's off-balance shot off a lob pass came up just short to send the game to overtime.



Playing their third OT game of the season, Madison College opened with seven consecutive points and never looked back to improve to 3-0 in games that go beyond regulation. The WolfPack converted 6 of 8 free throws in the extra session to help seal the victory, and they finished the game with a season-high 23 made free throws and an 88.5% team effort.

Hoffman paced the Pack with 18 points, to go along with six rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. The Stevens Point, Wisconsin, native was 4 for 11 overall and 2 of 6 from distance, while also hitting on 8 of 10 free throws.

Sophomore guard Cortez Telfered tallied 16 points and snared a team-high seven rebounds. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native finished 6 of 8 shooting and matched a career-high with four 3-pointers. Telfered also produced four helpers.

Deante Luster and Nik Feller each drilled a pair of three-pointers en route to 14 points each. Luster, who was 3 of 11 from the field and a perfect 6 for 6 at the charity stripe, dished out a team-leading five assists and had five rebounds. Feller was 5 for 10 overall with a couple free throws, four rebounds, and three steals.

Freshman Peter Gustafson, a Monticello, Wisconsin, native, came off the bench to produce 13 points and three rebounds. The 6'4" guard/forward was nearly perfect from the field as he connected on 4 of 5 shots and made all five free throw attempts.

Madison College finished the game shooting 46% (26-56), including a 10 for 28 (35%) effort beyond the arc to mark their third time this season with ten 3-pointers. Despite committing one more turnover than the Wolves, the Pack owned a 25-18 lead in points off turnovers.

Up Next:

Madison College (13-10, 3-2) continues N4C and Region 4 play on Tuesday, February 7 with a home contest against Harper College (3-20, 0-6). It will be the first of two meetings over nine days after the teams rescheduled a January 19 game to February 16. The WolfPack has won seven straight head-to-head contests with the Hawks, and boast an 18-10 lead in the all-time count. Tip off at H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium is at 7:30 p.m. and can be streamed live at MadisonCollege.tv.

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