PALATINE, Ill. – While the Harper College men’s basketball team shot over 50 percent for the game against Wilbur Wright College, the Hawks still had to grind out a win on Wednesday evening. Led by the trio of Admir Suljic (Chicago, Ill. /Lane Tech), Davion Benton (Chicago, Ill. /Alcott College Prep) and Randy Hewitt (Chicago, Il/Roycemore School), the Hawks won their first N4C game of the season, 66-60, over the visiting Rams.
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Suljic poured in a game-high 21 points for the Hawks (8-11, 1-2 N4C), including two crucial 3-pointers in the final 4 ½ minutes. He was 5-of-10 from the field and 8-of-12 at the foul line. Benton was a massive presence inside for the Hawks as he scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and snagged 11 rebounds.
Harper played the game without Robert Hudson (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Conant), the team’s second-leading scorer. It was freshman guard Randy Hewitt (Chicago, Il/Roycemore School) who stepped up for the Hawks with a career-high 11 points in 34 minutes.
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The Hawks shot an impressive 51.3 percent (20-of-39) from the floor and went to the line a season-high 36 times, making 22-of-36 (61.1 percent). The Rams (5-11, 0-3 N4C) fell into an early 22-9 hole in the game’s first 8 ½ minutes and trailed 33-24 at halftime. Wright leading scorer Victor Osuyak led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds, and Adonis Lema added 13.
The Rams cut the Harper advantage to 63-60 with 17 seconds left, but Dvonta Jones (Joliet, Ill./Joliet West) split a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game. On the ensuing possession, Wright turned it over, and Badral Enkh-Ulzii (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) iced the game with a pair of free throws.
The Hawks will look for another conference win at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn on Saturday at 7 PM.
