Harper can't hang with top-ranked Rock Valley
Saturday was a special day at the Sports and Wellness Center in Palatine as the Harper College men's basketball program hosted Alumni Day.
"It means a lot to me," said Wally Butman, a first-year assistant coach and former Harper basketball player who emphasized the value of knowing the school's sports history.
"It is important to connect our alumni with our athletes," said Harper athletic director Doug Spiwak. "The athletes of yesterday are important to the athletes of today."
The Hawks' opponent, defending NJCAA Division III national champion Rock Valley, is enjoying the here and now. The Golden Eagles (20-3, 7-1) claimed an 82-52 victory over the Hawks in North Central Community College Conference play.
Harper's Davion Benton was one player who wasn't happy with the home team's performance.
"I thought we were not ready," said Benton, who led all scorers with 28 points.
"It's obvious what their M.O. is, and why they win championships," said Harper coach Justin Welke, whose team slipped to 8-16 and 1-7. "They play tough and together the whole 40 minutes."
Benton agreed with his coach: "We needed the whole 40 minutes of energy," he said.
Isiah Halloway knows a thing or two about Harper hoops success. The 1998 Schaumburg High School grad was part of the memorable 1998-1999 Harper team that finished third nationally.
"Every practice was a dogfight," he recalled. "That's what made you so good as a team - every moment, you had to give it your all."
One reason Halloway returned to campus was to "give back to a program that brought me so much joy."
Another athlete who was praised by Spiwak for his work on the event was sports information director Bill Smith, who played baseball for the Hawks. Smith has participated in alumni events in the past with the baseball program and hopes the basketball players can benefit similarly.
Rock Valley was led by defending NJCAA Division III Player of the Year Jared Mayes and Ben Grygiel, who scored 16 points apiece.
The Hawks looked calm early against the nation's top-ranked team, and before the biggest home crowd of the season Harper led 6-3 after a bucket from Benton, who ended up making his first two 3s of the year. Admir Suljic contributed 9 points for the Hawks.
Harper's coaching staff is adjusting the way the team plays, using Benton as a focal point.
"He's gotten much better at picking his spots," Welke said.
Eagles coach Craig Doley said his team wasn't frustrated by its slow start. But soon enough, Rock Valley produced an 11-0 spurt to take control.
The schedule doesn't get much easier for Harper, which hosts Triton College on Wednesday. The Trojans are ranked third in this week's NJCAA Division II poll.
This season the Hawks are 0-6 against teams who have seen time in either the NJCAA Division II or III polls. But Welke believes there's more to it than that.
"We were right there with all of those teams, in their gyms," he said. "We need to be a full team - we need to be a family."