Trail Blazers unable to keep good vibes rolling, get shot down by Cobras’ sizzling perimeter game

QUINCY — Riding a two-game winning streak and having won four of its previous six games, the John Wood Community College men’s basketball team was eyeing a signature victory over nationally-ranked Parkland College on Saturday afternoon.

The Cobras, smarting from being upset three days earlier by Danville, would have none of it.

Guard Drew Lewis Jr. and wing Grant Chamberlain combined to sink 8 of 9 3-point tries and Parkland used a 14-1 run in a three-minute stretch in the first half to open a 20-point lead and cruise to an 80-64 victory in a Mid-West Athletic Conference game in the Student Activity Center.

The 10^th straight victory against JWCC in the series enabled the Cobras, ranked fifth in the latest NJCAA Division II poll, to improve to 15-2 overall and 2-1 in league play. The Trail Blazers fell to 6-11 and 1-1.

“They’re obviously a great team,” JWCC coach Jonny Dahl said. “It seems like Parkland, even back when I was playing here, has John Wood’s number. We’re talking about changing that. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t the night.”

The Cobras never trailed after Chamberlain drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing after receiving a kick-out pass off a rebound of a missed Lewis free throw three minutes into the game to make it 5-4.

Lewis and Chamberlain combined to make five 3-pointers and score 19 points in the opening seven and a half minutes to stake the winners to a 21-12 lead. Then, after JWCC closed within 27-20 with 7:23 left, Chamberlain connected on three more 3-pointers to key the 14-1 spurt that put the Cobras on top 41-21.

The 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman scored all 15 of his points in the first half, all on 3-pointers.

“They have five guys shooting 40-plus percent from three, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise that they can shoot it,” Dahl said. “It’s just frustrating that we let them get out in transition where we can lose shooters. When you can get out and run a little bit and you can find a shooter with space like that, it makes it a lot easier.”

The Trail Blazers had beaten Danville 91-79 a week earlier at home, only for the Jaguars to hang an 82-71 loss on the Parkland on Wednesday night. That caught the attention of the Cobras, who went 29-6 a year ago to win the region and opened with 10 straight wins this season.

“Losing to Danville and seeing that Danville came here and lost, I think we kind of played with a little bit of desperation that we didn’t have in the last one,” Parkland coach John Bowler said.

“This is a hard conference to win. I think our mentality was that we really needed this one, and it showed. Kudos to our guys. This is a hard place to win, and that’s a really talented team.”

JWCC trailed 45-29 at halftime and fell behind 55-34 with 16:37 left after Jaiden Martin rebounded his own miss, was fouled making a basket and sank the ensuing free throw.

Behind a strong second half by Jordan Shelton (12 of his team-high 18 points) and strong inside play by Jakeb Wallingford (11 points, 10 rebounds), the Trail Blazers trimmed the deficit to 14 points on five occasions but could never get any closer.

“The second half was closer to what we want to look like,” Dahl said. “We finally got physical, we came off ball screens with good angles and we got good looks.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get there in the first half.”

With six players standing 6 feet, 6 inches or taller, including 6-foot-11 center Fabio Rocha, Parkland scored 32 points in the paint and outrebounded JWCC 32-22 in addition to making 10 of 25 tries from 3-point range.

And the Cobras were playing without 6-foot-7 Chandler Jackson, out nursing an injury.

“He’s our best player. He gives us another interior presence,” Bowler said. “It’s a testament to our depth that we have played well when guys are hurt and sitting out.”

Lewis scored 15 of his game-high 19 points in the first half. JaMonte Williams (11) and Martin (10) also scored in double figures, in addition to Chamberlain’s 15.

Cachao Gianquinto Jr. scored 17 points for JWCC, which shot 50 percent from the field but was outscored 30-15 from behind the arc.

The Trail Blazers will play their next four games on the road, beginning Wednesday night against St. Louis Community College, where they have yet to win (0-3). They get another crack at Parkland Feb. 8 in Champaign.

“We’ll get another chance, another opportunity,” Dahl said. “We see them for sure one more time, hopefully two more times (including the region tournament).”