Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College men's basketball team secured a 58-52 victory over Southwestern University at the Leslie Robinson Holiday Classic in San Antonio, Texas. The game took place on Saturday afternoon inside the Bell Center. With this win, Illinois College improved its overall record to 7-4, while Southwestern remains winless at 0-10.

In the first half, both teams exchanged leads before Southwestern went on a 10-0 run, establishing their largest lead of the period at 19-9 with just over six minutes remaining. However, Illinois College managed to close the gap and trailed by only one point at 20-19 with two minutes left in the half. The Pirates held onto a narrow lead of 25-22 going into halftime.

Southwestern maintained its lead for nearly four minutes into the second half until Javonte McKenzie hit a three-pointer that put Illinois College ahead, 31-30, with just over sixteen minutes left to play. Although Southwestern briefly regained control with a 41-39 advantage with less than nine minutes remaining, Illinois College responded decisively.

Illinois College's Buzz Ritzel hit a crucial three-pointer followed by another from Nathan Bobikiewicz and an Austin Robinson layup to give their team a solid eight-point lead at 50-42 with five and a half minutes left in the game—a lead they maintained till the end. The Blueboys extended their advantage to as much as twelve points before securing the win.

Ritzel and McKenzie each contributed twelve points for Illinois College. Ritzel and Robinson also led in rebounds with six apiece while Robinson added eleven points to his tally. Bobikiewicz achieved a career-high ten points during the game.

"Ritzel joined the 1,000-point club at IC yesterday and now has 1,017 career points," according to available records. "Josh Harris sits at 968 in his quest to join Ritzel in the 1,000-point club." Over recent games, Illinois College boasts an impressive track record of victories: "the Blueboys have now won 39 of their last 48 games (39-9) and 56 of the past 65 (56-9). IC is also 22-3 in its last non-conference games."

Looking ahead, Illinois College will pause for Christmas before resuming play on December 30th against Benedictine in Lisle, Ill., for their final non-conference matchup of the season. Tipoff is set for two o'clock p.m.