MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Short‑handed and staring down its stiffest test of the season, No. 8 Milwaukee Area Technical College leaned fully into its "strength in numbers" mantra Tuesday night. Missing two of their top rebounders and interior scoring threats, the Stormers still found enough grit, defense and late‑game composure to rally past No. 6 South Suburban for an emphatic 89–85 home win that stretched their winning streak to 11.

In a primetime top‑ten matchup between Region 4 powerhouses, the Stormers were without freshman reserve Turon Rivers, their second‑leading scorer and a major interior presence, along with leading rebounder Jason Lawani. Their absences pushed MATC deeper into its rotation and demanded a collective response.

MATC opened the game with a 2–0 lead before spending the rest of the first half playing catch-up against a South Suburban team that shot 49.3 percent and carried a 47–43 edge into halftime. The Bulldogs stretched that margin to 52–43 early in the second half — the first of several uphill climbs the Stormers faced — and later rebuilt it to 65–56 as MATC continued searching for rhythm. Even after the Stormers trimmed the gap once more, South Suburban surged again to make it 75–66 with a little over seven minutes left, setting the stage for MATC's decisive late‑game push.

MATC's late surge began with just under seven minutes left, when a nine-point deficit sparked the Stormers' sharpest stretch of the night. Raydelh Boutin steadied the group at the line and helped trigger an 11–3 burst that included a deep jumper from Jayden Hackett, an and‑one finish by Qi'Andre Washington, and a putback from Noah Daniels before Boutin raced coast‑to‑coast for another three‑point play to tie it at 78. Moments later, Daniels jumped a passing lane for a steal and layup to give MATC its first lead since the opening minutes. South Suburban briefly answered to force ties at 80 and 82, but the Stormers owned the closing stretch, with Boutin knocking down more free throws, the defense forcing a late shot‑clock violation, and Daniels converting another offensive rebound to help build an 86–82 cushion before Boutin went back to the stripe and pushed the margin to six.

Even after the Bulldogs hit a late three to pull within one possession, Boutin returned to the line one last time and calmly knocked down the final point that sealed the four‑point win, finishing 5‑for‑6 at the stripe over the last four and a half minutes.

"Boutin has been huge for us," Casey said. "He's running the team and hitting his free throws. So when he went to the line multiple times at the end, I was very confident those were going in and we were going to extend the lead."

MATC's defense and grittiness carried the comeback. The Stormers forced 15 turnovers, collected 10 steals and turned those mistakes into a 20–9 advantage in points off turnovers. They also made their trips to the line count, finishing 31‑for‑39 on free throws to offset South Suburban's 49.3 percent shooting and 17 assists. As a team, MATC shot 45.8 percent overall and overcame a tough second‑half stretch in which they shot just 16 percent (1-for-6) from three by winning the possession battle late.

"We hang our hats on the 3‑point line because we're a good shooting team," Casey said. "In probably our worst half of the year, we shot 16 percent from three and still came back and won the game. It shows we're not one‑dimensional. We can do multiple things, and tonight it was a little bit of everybody."

MATC head coach Randy Casey said the collective performance embodied the team's identity, especially given the injuries.

"The one thing I told them when I went into the locker room was that I was proud of them," Casey said. "I was proud of how they stuck together. It wasn't pretty by any means, but they stayed together, worked together and came up with a win."

Boutin paced the Stormers with 23 points, pouring in 12 after halftime and knocking down 15 of 17 free throws. He also directed the offense with four assists while adding four rebounds and three steals. Daniels delivered another strong effort with 21 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals on 7‑for‑13 shooting. Hackett provided another huge lift offensively, finishing with 20 points, four rebounds, three blocks and one steal. Washington added 10 points and contributed across the board with three rebounds, two assists and a steal on 4‑for‑8 shooting, while sophomore guard Jordan Jones supplied seven points and four rebounds off the bench.

"It was amazing to get the win," Boutin said. "This is a big win and a great morale booster for us. Our confidence is really high right now, but we've got to keep going one day at a time."

UP NEXT
MATC (18–3) will look to extend its winning streak to a dozen when it hosts Rock Valley at 8 p.m. Thursday.