By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- After a brief rally in the second period that cut a 12-point lead down to four, the Niles basketball team fizzled out in a 71-51 Big 16 Conference West Division loss at home to Benton Harbor Tuesday night.
The Vikings, now 4-11 overall and 1-5 in the division, trailed 17-5 at one point in the first quarter, but rallied to cut the Tigers' (13-2, 6-0) lead to 19-15 halfway through the second quarter.
From that point, however, Benton Harbor outscored Niles 15-2 before halftime and took a 34-17 lead into the break.
It was a battle of big men in the first half as Harbor junior Wilson Chandler, a 6-7 forward, scored 13 of his 15 points, and Niles senior John Kessick, a 6-4 center, scored all of his 12 points.
Chandler finished with a game-high 13 rebounds.
Benton Harbor opened the second half with a decisive 21-4 run and both teams sent their reserves in for the final 10 minutes of play. Niles outscored the Tigers 30-16 during that time.
Sophomore Nate Parks finished with a game-high 12 assists for Niles.
The Niles junior varsity team dropped a 71-63 decision to the Tigers. Nick Johnson led the Vikings with 24 points and Lavette Walker added 15.
The Niles freshmen lost 52-50 nailbiter to mthe Tigers. Jake Messner paced the Vikings with 20 points.
Benton Harbor….71
Niles………………..51
Benton Harbor: Rodney Alexander 4 0-3 8, Justin Webb 1 2-2 5, Wilson Chandler 7 1-2 15, Antwan Price 4 1-1 11, Larry Edwards 2 0-0 4, Joique Bell 1 2-2 4, Steven Williams 3 0-0 6, Jay McCree 2 2-2 6, Demetrius Gordon 1 2-2 4, Darryl Stanton 1 0-2 2, Jermaine Sanders 1 2-2 4, Lonzale Hill 0 0-0 0, Charles Moore 0 2-4 2. Totals: 27 14-22 71
Niles: Karyce Pulliam 0 0-0 0, Lonnie Jones 2 0-0 4, Brian Ketchum 0 1-2 1, Ivery Cross 1 0-0 2, Marcus Lawshea 1 0-0 2, John Kessick 6 0-0 12, Nate Parks 1 2-2 5, Scott Quaye 0 0-0 0, Dane Ford 0 0-0 0, Kelby Jemison 0 0-0 0, Stacy Caskey 0 0-0 0, Paul Wreggelsworth 1 0-0 2, Adrian Davis 1 0-0 3, Ben Landgraf 0 3-4 3, Jason Rutkowske 3 1-2 8, Andrew Foster 0 0-0 0, Nick Etzcorn 3 3-7 9. Totals: 19 10-17 51
B. Harbor 17 17 23 14--71
Niles 9 8 9 25--51
3-point shooting: Benton Harbor 3 (Price 2, Webb), Niles 3 (Parks, Rutkowske, Davis). Team fouls (fouled out): Benton Harbor 18 (none), Niles 16 (none). Team records: Benton Harbor 13-2 (6-0 Big 16 West), Niles 4-11 (1-5)