IC responds to Lisle comeback

Lisle's Lions roared back from a poor start - but it was not enough to knock off Immaculate Conception.

The visiting Knights flew to an 11-point lead in the first four minutes, saw Lisle take a brief third- quarter edge, then regained control to outlast their nonconference hosts, 61-50 on Tuesday in Lisle.

"When they came back, in the huddle during timeouts we were just like, 'All right, calm down, get back to our game plan.' We kept playing," said IC forward Antonio Taylor, who had 14 points, 5 steals and 5 assists.

"They gave us a good game," he said. "They kept fighting and hats off to those guys."

Taylor had 2 assists and helped force 2 Lisle turnovers a little over a minute into the game. Lisle coach Mark LaScala abruptly replaced his entire starting five.

When they returned four minutes later they seemed to have gotten the message, cutting a 14-3 deficit to 20-12 after one quarter and 31-26 at halftime.

"I thought our reserves played with a lot more energy and I think that also a little time on the bench there was a little motivating," LaScala said.

"I guess that gave us a little push," said Lisle forward Cameron Wright, a usual starter who came off the bench Tuesday for a team-high 17 points.

"Everyone was like, all right, fine, let's settle down, take a deep breath, let's get it done."

It didn't help IC that center Matt Purdom picked up his third foul by 3:18 of the first quarter.

"They're a different team without him," LaScala said.

Purdom was back in the third quarter but so was Lisle. Point guard Jay Osika hit two 3-pointers from the top of the key and Wright drove for a basket that gave the Lions a 34-33 lead at 4:23.

Then over the next three minutes Lisle (5-10) turned the ball over twice and missed six shots. On the other end Taylor and Purdom helped IC (12-6) rebuild a 41-36 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Lisle got within 52-48 with 2:20 to play, but IC's Demitrius Mobley hit a free throw, Purdom put back his missed second try, then Danny Muisenga and Mike Randick combined to outscore Lisle 6-2 the rest of the way.

Purdom led the Knights with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Muisenga scored 11 points and Randick 10. Osika scored 12 points for Lisle.

"I'd say we played 11 solid minutes tonight," said IC coach Darren Howard. "But we played 11 solid minutes and got a win. I'm not going to argue with that part."