ROCKFORD, Ill. – Powered by an excellent second half by sophomore guard Cyrus Little, the Milwaukee Area Technical College men's basketball team was able to erase an 11-point halftime deficit to secure a 78-74 road win over Waubonsee Sunday during the NJCAA Region 4 Division II (Midwest District B) men's basketball tournament semifinals.

The close victory over the Chiefs helped MATC (14-17) advance to the NJCAA Divison II Region 4 Championship for the sixth straight year dating back to the 2018-19 season. Editor's Note: The NJCAA canceled the 2020-21 postseason due to COVID-19.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team and their willingness to continue to fight no matter the circumstances," MATC head coach Randy Casey said. "We were down as much as 16 points in the first half and got the lead down to 8 and our possession. We did not score and let them build the lead back to 14 and we went into halftime down 11. Both teams went on runs in the second and we finally got over the hump and took the lead with 2:36 on the clock for the first time since the first possession of the game by on old fashioned three-point play by Cyrus Little. This put us up 2 and on the very next possession Waubonsee comes down and hits a three to put them back up by one. The next couple of possessions went back and forth with both teams scoring. Owen Smith hit a big shot with our shot clock running down to give us back the lead. The next possession we came down and got a big stop on defense. On our next possession they fouled and put Cyrus to the line and he hit two free throws to put us up 3 with 23 seconds left in the game. We got the ball back and Antonio Foxwell hit one of two free throws with 2 seconds left on the clock to put us up 4 to secure the win."

The Stormers trailed as many as 16 points midway through the first half before trimming things down to a 39-28 halftime deficit. By the time the second half rolled around, MATC had completely flipped the script on Waubonsee.

MATC opened the second half on an immediate 12-2 run that helped cut its deficit to one possession following a made layup by Little with 17 minutes remaining. From there, both teams continued to exchange blows, with the Chiefs eventually being the ones who found themselves in control up 62-52 with a little over eight minutes remaining.

It was at this point that the Stormers dug deep defensively and sparked another immediate 8-0 run before relying on the strong play of Little down the stretch. Over the course of the final eight minutes of action, Little went 3-for-3 with nine points, four assists and one rebound. His strong play late helped his team end the game on a 26-12 run over the final eight minutes.

"I told Cyrus in a time out early in the second half that we needed him to take care of the ball and get his team in good positions to score for us the game," Casey said. "Cyrus did an amazing job down the stretch by hitting big shots, running the plays that were called which got us good shot attempts, and knocking down big free throws. We will need him to continue to run the team like he has the last two games in the championship. I am very proud of the team and how they stuck together and never gave up!"

As a team, MATC shot 45.2 percent (28-for-62) from the field, including an 8-for-22 mark from deep. They collected 38 rebounds, 34 points in the paint and 16 assists.

Defensively, they forced 16 turnovers, which directly led to 16 points off turnovers for the Stormers' offense.

Furthermore, they got a big boost off the bench from freshman Julian Valentine, who scored a team-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field.

"Julian Valentine came off the bench and gave us a huge spark when we needed it," Casey said. "He had one of his best games of the year!"

STAT BOOK
Little flirted with a triple-double, totaling 19 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and four steals to lead the Stormers. Freshman reserve Julian Valentine added a team-high 23 points, four rebounds and one steal in 32 minutes off the bench. Sophomore Matthew Hoarde recorded a double-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and two steals. Sophomore Owen Smith chipped in seven points and eight rebounds.

UP NEXT
MATC (14-17) advances to the NJCAA Division II (Midwest B District) Championship on Mar. 8, where they will square off against South Suburban at 7:30 p.m. at the RVC Physical Education Center (PEC) in Rockford, Ill.