PALATINE, Ill. – Led by the sharp shooting of Admir Suljic (Chicago, Ill. /Lane Tech), the Harper men’s basketball team got their third win of the year with a 78-66 victory over visiting Harry S. Truman College.
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Suljic poured in a game-high 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Robert Hudson (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Conant) and Jalon Roundy (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) both reached double figures for the Hawks (3-5) with 12 points and 11 points, respectively.
Harper trailed 14-11 early but took a 21-16 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Randy Hewitt (Chicago, Il/Roycemore School) (nine points). Suljic knocked down his first three of the night late in the first half to give the hosts a 37-28 lead at the break.
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The Hawks increased the lead to 46-28 with a 9-0 run in the first three minutes of the second half, capitalizing on Truman (0-7) turnovers that led to fastbreak buckets. Harper’s biggest lead came with 12:10 left as Suljic knocked down a three to give the Hawks a 59-39 edge. The Falcons cut the deficit in half to 62-52 with 6:51 to play, but Hewitt and Suljic knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 15.
Truman made one final surge as Tony Enwiya (team-high 21 points) knocked down one of his six triples to make it 71-59 with 2:34 to play. However, Suljic provided the answer once again with another 3-pointer.
The Hawks shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) for the game, the first time they’ve shot over 50 percent in a game this season. The Falcons shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) and struggled at the line (50 percent, 11-of-22) Ronald Cooper posted a double-double for the Falcons with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Hawks have four days before they play again. They travel to Elgin Community College on Tuesday, Nov. 25 for a 7 PM game against the Spartans (5-3).
