MATC’s men’s basketball team survived a back and forth first half to pull away and beat the College of Lake County by a final score of 69-56 on a chilly Tuesday, Nov. 11 evening. Down by one with 17 minutes to play, a hard drive got MATC guard/forward Andre Neal to the line to sink both free throws to give the Stormers the lead for good. Neal finished with 13 points, shooting 3-for-6 from downtown.
The Stormers shot 40 percent  on threes as a team. Guard/forward Kevin Kellner nailed both his long-range attempts and forward/center Steve Stovall, Jr. shot 1-for-1 from that area as well. Stovall contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in a win that saw a total of 13 MATC players take the court.
“You know, we’re a deep team, said head coach Randy Casey. “There’s talent all the way down the bench and we got into some foul trouble early, so that gave some opportunities to some other guys.”
In Casey’s eyes, the biggest reason the Stormers came out on top was due to better execution near the hoop in the later goings.
“We had a lot of good opportunities down low in the first half,” Casey stated, “and we didn’t finish stuff.  In the second half we were able to finish our shots down low.”
Austin Dunbar, forward, put the game out of CLC’s reach with two free throws to make it 63-53 with 1:49 to play. Dunbar ended the game with 11 points and six rebounds.
Guard Kamar Marshall kept the Stormers’ constantly running offense operating smoothly with four assists. Guard/forward Melvin Brown led MATC with 16 points, seven rebounds, and one monster dunk in the final minute that deserves its own story.
Lake County’s Eric Quall finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and one monster facial received that deserves its own story.
The Stormers improved to 5-1 on the season and will take on Richard J. Daley College on Saturday, Dec. 6 at Alverno College, the location of all MATC home contests. Admission is free.