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Ottawa's second chances do in Kaneland

It's hard enough trying to defend a team as talented at Ottawa.

Give the Pirates second chances and they're going to make you pay.

Kaneland almost overcame its inability to win the rebounding battle but fell short, 59-55, in a seesaw Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference crossover game at Ottawa Tuesday night.

"You're not going to win many basketball games like that. I thought that was huge all night. They just killed us on the boards," Knights coach Joe Conroy said. "You're not going to win games if you don't rebound, especially if you give up 12 offensive rebounds."

Kaneland (12-6) battled foul trouble all game, but Ottawa did as well. Mark Lilly and Ethan Conroy each picked up their second respective foul midway in the second quarter, and it proved to be a common theme, as Conroy and Mitchel Groen proceeded to pick up their fourth fouls early in the fourth quarter.

They overcome those woes, although they frequently sent the Pirates to the free throw line where they made 18-of-25 attempts.

It was the inability to rebound, primarily on the offensive glass, which doomed the Knights. They were outrebounded 35-22 and surrendered 17 second-chance points.

"Our rebounding ultimately decided the game," senior Dylan Vaca said. "It wasn't the points or the defense. It was our rebounding and the second-chance points. That killed us, especially down the stretch."

Still, the Knights had more than one opportunity late.

The Pirates (13-8) used an 8-0 run over the final three minutes of the third quarter and into the first minute of the fourth quarter to turn a 39-38 deficit into a 46-39 lead.

The Knights would answer though with an 11-2 run, which culminated with Vaca's baseline drive midway through the quarter to give the Knights a 50-48 lead.

The teams were knotted up twice over the final 3:40 and had 9 ties overall. The game also featured 7 lead changes.

Lilly's 3-pointer pulled Kaneland to within 56-55 with 1:08 left but the Knights wouldn't score again.

Isaac Gassman, who had 23 points and 13 rebounds, made a pair of free throws with 46.5 seconds left to extend Ottawa's lead to 58-55.

"We just didn't keep him off the glass," Conroy said. "I don't think he really did it from the outside, but he's one heck of a basketball player."

Vaca and Ethan Conroy both attempted potential game-tying 3-pointers but were off target.

"We had some tough shots at the end to tie it up and we just didn't hit," Vaca said. "They were pretty good on defense, big and long, which made things harder, but we executed plays to create the shots we wanted, but we just didn't make them."

Vaca led the Knights with 20 points while Ethan Conroy and Ryan David each had 9 points. Defensively, five different Kaneland players took charges.

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