Harper men pass up Oakton in OT

Harper's men's basketball team looked like a completely different team in the second half.

But it was worth the wait.

The first half was mostly the Hawks chasing Oakton to no avail. At the break, Harper was down 46-34.

"If you're not ready to play and a team comes out on fire, now you're losing a little confidence," said Harper coach Tony Amarino. "Now you're not as aggressive. If you don't come out to play and somebody gets on a roll like Oakton did, it (makes) a hole for you."

But the Hawks snapped out it.

"It wasn't drawn on the board like that in the pregame," said Amarino. "We didn't look like we were here to play (in the first half). But that being said, you have to give Oakton a lot of credit. Some of that had to do with their game."

The Hawks put together a 15-2 run early in the second half and reversed the first-half momentum. At the end of regulation, it was 84-84.

In the overtime, Harper finally settled into its game and finessed a 94-91 win over last season's Skyway Conference champs.

Harper (11-2) is definitely finding its game this season. The Hawks are currently ranked sixth in Div. III ball.

Its comeback on Tuesday showed why.

Three of the Hawks' starters put more than 20 points on the board. Fred Taylor and Mike Silungan scored 23 apiece to lead the way.

Silungan sunk three 3-pointers in the second half (4 in all) to help chip away at the Raiders' lead.

"It took all of us (in the second half)," Silungan said. "We talked at halftime and said we needed our heart. We willed it."

Josh Toon (13 points) added a pair a 3s in the second half, the second of which with 12:30 left in regulation put Harper up 55-54 -- its first lead of the game.

From there, it was anybody's game.

"We had to get stops when we needed them," Silungan said of his team's defense. "We ran our offense to perfection."

Silungan scored 2 baskets in the OT, including the last basket to seal the win.

Bobby Rhodes spread out 21 points for the Hawks and balanced his efforts equally on both ends of the court.

Oakton was led by Tylor Carr's 17 with Terry Weathers and Jamal Jones with 12 apiece.

"We showed a lot of character coming back." Amarino said. "We knocked down our 14-point deficit in six or seven minutes in the second half. We got a good stop to send it into overtime.

"It was a gut check. We challenged them at halftime a little bit. We weren't 10-2 on accident (heading into the game). We were 10-2 because we were playing the kind of basketball that champions are made of. We just needed to play that."

Women's basketball

Harper slipped to 3-9 following a 56-42 loss to Oakton (7-4) on Tuesday night.

Although the game is Harper's third straight loss, it wasn't all bad news.

The team play of Harper showed considerable improvement since its last meeting with the Raiders -- a 67-29 loss in November's opener in Des Plaines.

"I'm happy with the way the kids played," said Harper coach Rusty Becker. "The last time we played (Oakton) we lost by 38 points.

"The kids are finally seeing some of their hard work pay off -- even (it) its not showing in wins. Gradually its coming. The kids are starting to believe."

The Hawks held several convincing leads in the first half -- including 15-9 after a basket Chrissy Wise (8 points).

Emily Vierneisel led the Hawks by sinking four 3-pointers her way to 14 points.

"We're getting there," Vierneisel said. "We're taking baby steps to improve. We played a lot better today. I know we didn't come out with a win but slowly we're getting a lot better."

In the second half, Harper got back to within 45-31 after an 8-0 run that included baskets by Vierneisel, Kassie Kissane (10) and Wise.

"As a team, we're starting to play together," Vierneisel said. "(We need) patience and execution on offense. (We need to) play with confidence."

But Harper found little answer for Oakton's Angie Rieger who sank five 3-pointers on her way to a game high 23 points. Ana Gonzalez added 14 for the Raiders.

"The timing is starting to get there," Becker said. "Everything is starting to develop but it's at a slower pace than I wanted it. As long as the kids keep practicing, we can deal with that."