Harper delivers season-opening win

The Harper College men's basketball program ushered in the program's 40th season with a 76-64 win over a pesky Judson University JV squad on Tuesday night.

A pair of newcomers helped lead the way for the Hawks 6-foot-8 freshman forward Wes Wilcox (Lake Park) had 24 points in his Hawks debuit.

“We took the opportunity (to take advantage of a size mismatch) and banged it down low,” Wilcox said.

Another new face, Carthage transfer forward Chris Hicks (Elk Grove), chipped in with 20 points, includiing an excuse-me 3-point shot as time expired.

“When we started to move, we started to get open looks,” Hicks said. He also said the Hawks “did a good job of running the offense (in the second half).”

“We had guys who had good spurts through the game,” said Harper coach Tony Amarino.

The Hawks and Eagles went to the break tied 29-29.

“The first half was horrible,” said Amarino.

Coming out of the half, the Hawks used a more uptempo style to score 7 of the first 9 points.

Amarino was expecting more energy on opening night.

“We were supposed to set the tempo, and we didn't do that,” he said.

Judson sophomore transfer forward Drasko Novakovic used his inside-outside abilities to give Harper defenders trouble and finished with a game-high 31 points.

The Hawks eventually grabbed as much as a 15-point lead near the middle of the second half. The Eagles persisted, though, at one point drawing with 8 points.

The Hawks hit 5 of 8 free throws down the stretch to keep the lead.