Losses don't sit well with Harper

No one likes losing.

And that's what first-year Harper College coach Tony Amarino likes about his men's basketball team.

"They're playing hard and they want to win," Amarino said. "They lost a couple of games and it bothered them, which is good."

What's even better is Harper was 5-2 after a 78-68 loss at Kishwaukee and ranked sixth in the NJCAA Division III poll.

"If you had told me we'd be 5-2 after seven games at the beginning of the year I would've taken it," Amarino said. "Mainly because of our home and road schedule."

Harper has only played two home games against a solid schedule. The Hawks led by 13 points early at Kishwaukee but were outscored 14-4 in the final three minutes.

Bobby Rhodes (Schaumburg) led the Hawks with 21 points, Jon Winsor (Maine West) added 12 points and Fred Taylor (Conant) had 9 points and 8 rebounds.

But Amarino said "it's almost been a different guy every time stepping up and making plays" in Harper's victories.

Dartanian Wells (18 points) and Winsor (17 points) led an 84-80 win over Parkland that included nice efforts off the bench from Ricky Drehobl and Jorge Ramirez.

Amarino has been using about 10 players a game and said one of his biggest challenges is finding enough time for everyone. As a result, effort hasn't been an issue.

"The intensity has been really good and we're getting after it," Amarino said. "It's a situation where they're excited about this. You would expect it to be like this all the time but sometimes it isn't."

Harper hosts Elgin at 3 p.m. Saturday and travels to McHenry at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Big honor for Lima: Freshman Christy Lima (Rolling Meadows) received NJCAA Division III All-American volleyball honors.

Lima had 445 kills and a 25.1 percent hitting efficiency, 233 digs and hit 93 percent of her serves. Lima was also an all-conference and all-region selection.

Looking to get untracked: The Harper women's basketball team fell to 1-4 after a 56-36 loss at Kishwaukee as Larissa Coldebella had 14 points and Emily Vierneisel had 8 rebounds.

Coldebella and Vierneisel had 15 and 14 points, respectively, in a 70-51 loss to the Northwestern Club team. Harper hosts Elgin at 1 p.m. Saturday and travels to McHenry at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Mat eye-opener: Harper placed four wrestlers at the prestigious Missouri Open on Nov. 18. The event features some of the country's top four-year Division I programs.

Darius Williams took second at 174 pounds, heavyweight Alex Delonis took fourth, Danny Miller was fifth at 174 and Lawrence Manns was sixth at 141.

Harper returns to action Saturday at Wisconsin-Parkside.