Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College men's basketball team secured a 61-50 victory over Beloit in a Midwest Conference matchup at Sherman Gymnasium. The win improved Illinois College's record to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play, while Beloit fell to 6-12 and 2-8.

Beloit led for most of the first half, holding a significant advantage with a 12-point lead twice, the last being at 24-12 with just over eight minutes remaining. The Buccaneers entered halftime with a seven-point lead at 34-27.

In the second half, Illinois College's defense was pivotal, limiting Beloit to only 16 points. A crucial moment came when Buzz Ritzel executed a three-point play featuring a dunk that shifted momentum in favor of the Blueboys. From there, Illinois College outscored Beloit by nine points to secure the win.

Seth Doss led all scorers with 17 points for Illinois College. Ritzel contributed ten points as part of an effort where nine Blueboys scored. Jaylen Swinney collected ten rebounds for the team.

Illinois College has been on an impressive run, winning 45 of their last 55 games and dominating their conference matchups by winning 34 of their previous 41 contests.

Next up for the Blueboys is a game against Cornell in Mt. Vernon, Iowa on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.