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Logan men come back to beat Wabash Valley

CARTERVILLE - The John A. Logan College men's basketball team was in trouble from the start and trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half Saturday against Wabash Valley College.

But the Volunteers stormed back in the second half and even built a 12-point lead of their own before hanging on down the stretch for a 90-86 victory in an entertaining, fast-paced Great Rivers Athletic Conference matchup at Brewer Gymnasium.

Logan is now 13-5 overall and 5-3 in the GRAC.

Wabash Valley jumped out to leads of 12-2, 17-4 and 31-14 in the first half. The Warriors went into the break with a 51-41 lead with the final points coming on a thunderous dunk by Austin Trice, a 6-foot-7 power forward who leads all NJCAA Division I players in rebounds per game.

The Vols first went on a 12-1 run to take the lead in the second half, a burst that started with putbacks by Romelo Burrell and Quamain Nelson. Derek Hawthorne Jr. put in a layup to make it a five-point game and then 3-pointers from Ronnie Carson and Vonnie Patterson put Logan ahead, 57-56, with 14:32 remaining.

The lead changed hands six times over the next few minutes, but the Vols surged out with a 16-3 run that started when Burrell and Hawthorne both scored to make it 70-66.

Jaiveon Eaves scored and Patterson put in a layup off an inbounds play to continue the run, which was capped at 81-69 on another layup by Eaves with 3:22 remaining.

But the Warriors regrouped after a timeout and went on a 10-0 run of their own to pull within 81-79 on Marcus Garrett's 3-pointer with 1:50 left.

Logan made enough free throws the rest of the way to hold on for the win. A layup by Burrell with 30 seconds left definitely helped but it wasn't secure until Jonah Jackson hit two freebies with 6.9 on the clock for his only points of the game.

Eaves led four Logan players in double figures with 18 points. Hawthorne had 17, while Patterson put in 14 with a huge second half. Carson finished with 13, including 8 of 10 from the foul line. Burrell had eight points, Nelson had seven and David Sloan had seven points and five assists.

Garrett paced Wabash Valley with 29 points. Trice ended up with eight points and 10 rebounds.

In the early game, the No. 9-ranked Wabash Valley women pulled away late for an 87-70 victory over the Lady Vols, who led after the first quarter (21-16) and at the half (40-38).

But the Lady Warriors (16-1, 6-0) went in front in the third quarter and took a four-point lead into the fourth to drop Logan to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the GRAC.

Mariah McCully led WVC with 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Logan was led by Destiny Cozart's 24 points. Miriah Donelson had 15, while Shaniya Whitsell had 13. The Lady Vols were 13 of 28 from long range, with Cozart hitting six and Donelson sinking five.

Logan's men and women both return to action Wednesday against Kaskaskia College in Centralia.

Jaiveon Eaves takes in a layup. Justin Walker Photo
David Sloan takes in a layup. Justin Walker Photo
Quamain Nelson Justin Walker Photo