Sandburg men will get rematch with No. 23 Madison after win streak stopped at 10

MADISON, Wis. — Nationally ranked Madison snapped the Sandburg men's basketball team's 10-game win streak, but the Chargers won't have to wait long to get another shot at the WolfPack.  

Sandburg let a double-digit halftime lead slip away in a 77-74 road loss to the No. 23 WolfPack on Saturday to close the regular season, but the teams will meet again at 7 p.m. Thursday at Madison in the quarterfinals of the Region 4 tournament. 

Sandburg (21-9) is the No. 10 seed in the bracket, while the WolfPack earned the No. 7 seed in the tournament. The winner will play in the semifinals at 4 p.m. March 1 at Rock Valley against the winner of second-seeded Rock Valley and No. 15 seed Lake County. The championship is scheduled for noon March 7, also at Rock Valley.  

Sandburg dropped both matchups with Madison during the regular season. The Chargers lost 82-69 on Nov. 15 at home prior to Saturday's contest. 

Sandburg came out hot in their most recent matchup, shooting 57 percent (18 of 32) in the first half to take a 45-34 lead into halftime. Madison fought back to take a 74-69 lead with 2:29 to go before an Ashton Grieves 3-pointer and Ralph Wires layup knotted the score with 1:25 to go. 

The WolfPack regained the lead on Carson McCormick's layup with :28 left. After a Chargers turnover, Madison split a pair of free throws for a 3-point lead with :09 to play. Sandburg had a shot to tie in the final seconds, but Keauntrey Barnes' attempt was off the mark. 

Wires blew by his previous career high for scoring, finishing with a game-best 29 points on 12-for-18 shooting. The sophomore from Quincy was 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Wires' previous career best was 22 points Nov. 7 against Lake County. 

Rylan Carton had 17 points and seven rebounds for Sandburg, and Barnes finished with 13 points as well as game highs of eight boards and five steals. 

UP NEXT 
Region 4 Division II District B quarterfinals, 7 p.m. Thursday at Madison 

Region 4 Division II District B men's basketball tournament 
Quarterfinals 
All games 7 p.m. Thursday at higher seed 
Game 1 — No. 15 Lake County at No. 2 Rock Valley 
Game 2 — No. 10 Sandburg at No. 7 Madison 
Game 3 — No. 11 Black Hawk at No. 6 Morton 
Game 4 — No. 14 DuPage at No. 3 South Suburban 
Semifinals 
March 1 at Rock Valley 
Game 5 — Winner 1 vs. winner 2, 4 p.m. 
Game 6 — Winner 3 vs. winner 4, 6 p.m. 
Championship 
7:30 p.m. March 7 at Rock Valley

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