Waubonsee sweeps Prairie State

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Updated: February 2, 2012 10:46PM

When scouting reports and game plans are followed, good things generally are the result.

Waubonsee Community College had a plan against visiting Prairie State Thursday night and the Chiefs used it for an 85-66 victory.

A big part of that plan was to make Prairie State’s Darius White work overtime on the defensive end.

“He’s one of their better offensive players,” WCC head coach David Heiss said.

So, the Chiefs decided to go inside to Melvin Rowe, and the 6-4 sophomore from Proviso West delivered 22 points to go with seven rebounds and, just as important, White scored only eight points.

Even more important, the Chiefs (18-6 overall) remained in first place in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference with an 8-1 record.

Waubonsee used a 14-2 run to bolt from a 14-13 deficit to a 27-16 lead, and Prairie State was forced into playing a game of catch-up.

The Chiefs, with five players in double figures, eventually pulled to a 14-point (54-40) lead with 11 minutes remaining. Then they let the Pioneers back in the game.

Five straight points from Brandon Williams (19 points) cut Waubonsee’s lead to nine (54-45) with 10:11 remaining.

“I thought we lost our focus. We let ‘em back in,” Heiss said. “I think we had a stretch of six or seven minutes where they had 11 possessions and scored on nine. “

Still, the Pioneers lacked the depth with only six players dressed to make a serious run, and the Chiefs methodically pulled away.

Rowe led the Chiefs with his 22 points but Deontray Dorsey added 21, Jarvis Griffin 15, Marcus Franklin 12 and John Williams 10.

“That (balance) should be one of our strong suits,” Heiss said. “We’ve got a lot of different kids that are capable of scoring.”

The Chiefs finish off a three-game home stand at 3 p.m. Saturday when they play host to Morton. They face two tough road assignments next week with trips to Lake County Tuesday and Moraine Valley on Thursday.

Women’s game

Waubonsee 55, Prairie State 44 — The Chiefs pulled their second straight conference upset in a row as Karla Veitinghoff scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Prairie State (20-5 overall) was tied for first place in the conference with a 7-1 record entering the game.

On Tuesday, the Chiefs handed Elgin (15-6 overall) a 57-54 defeat. It was the first conference loss for the Spartans.

Colleen Purcell added 16 points for the Chiefs, 12-12 overall and 6-3 in the conference.