Harper men fall short; women open with N4C win

The 3-point line was a bit more than an equalizer in Wednesday's men's basketball matchup at Robert Morris University in Arlington Heights.

For visiting Wilbur Wright College, it made all the difference in a North Central Community College Conference opener.

The Rams took 31 of their 64 field-goal attempts from 3-point range and made them at a torrid pace in earning a 104-61 victory over host Harper College.

Harper coach Sean Stochl expected Wright to shoot plenty from long range but also hoped his group would close out on the Rams' shooters better.

"Put a hand in somebody's face," Stochl said. "When you're comfortable and hot, you don't miss."

Leading the way for Wright was guard Antonio Newman with 26 points (which included four 3s). Rams coach Edmond Pryor said Newman brings "a lot of great energy" to the team and is also the squad's best defender. Wright made 18 3s, including 3 apiece from Kewan Smith, Ahmad Brown and Jimmie Brooks.

The Hawks (2-13, 0-1), meanwhile, struggled from long distance, finishing 1-for-10 - in sharp contrast to a nice 48.0 percentage from the field. Harper was led by the backcourt tandem of Jesse Young (19 points) and Joe Gatziolis (Elk Grove, 17 points). Corin Daniel was next with 16 points.

Pryor said his team's 7-6 overall record is not indicative of his team's real ability.

"We have all of our guys back (for conference play)," Pryor said. "We were a little short-handed first semester."

Harper 71, Wright 53: The Harper women had no trouble picking up their first N4C victory of the season. And already, the Hawks (4-9, 1-0) have exceeded their conference win total from the past two seasons.

Sophomore Angelina Villasin (Prospect) led the way with game-high 27 points, which included a pair of 3s.

Stochl liked the way Villasin implemented some the new schemes the Hawks had worked on over the holiday break.

"She did what she was supposed to - get to the basket," Stochl said.

Abbey Sloan (Elk Grove) contributed 13 points to go along with her team-high 7 rebounds. Kaela Drum (11 points), Sydney Heinrich (10) and Maggie O'Donnell (10) also scored in double figures.

Stochl credited the outcome with the ability to apply pressure defense, and Villasin agreed.

"We played better on on defense," she said. "That allowed us to transfer it to offense."

Kristina Funches and Kenyatta Hurst both finished with 17 points for Wright (2-9, 0-1).