Takeaways: Normal Community vs Richwoods

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a big time Friday night matchup, Normal Community prevailed late to beat Richwoods 57-49. Here are some notes from the game!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Team Effort From Ironmen</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Normal Community had a balanced scoring night, but were led by unsigned senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1172774' first='Braylon' last='Roman'] who had 19 points. Roman was strong attacking the rim and scored efficiently at all levels. With his skillset and positional size at 6'4, there is no doubt Roman is one of the best seniors left on the board in Illinois for 2024. Speaking of top unsigned seniors, 6'8 big man [player_tooltip player_id='1285481' first='Noah' last='Cleveland'] had a solid night- posting 8 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Cleveland, who did not play last season, looks the part of a scholarship level player with his length and mobility.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>6'10 Wright State signee [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'] held his own in the post, battling against [player_tooltip player_id='1978576' first='Lathan' last='Sommerville'] all night. Webber finished with 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Webber moves very well for his size and can do a little bit of everything to affect the game. Illinois State football signee Dexter Niekamp is a great glue guy for the Ironmen, crashing the boards and finding open shooters. He posted a statline of 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Richwoods Falls Just Short</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While they stuck around for the majority of the game, the Knights could not close the gap at closing time. This was a tough assignment for Rutgers signee [player_tooltip player_id='1978576' first='Lathan' last='Sommerville'] as Normal Community has three rotational players that are 6'9 or taller. Sommerville still found a way to get his buckets inside the paint and out as he finished with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. Unsigned senior combo guard [player_tooltip player_id='1598683' first='Daquan' last='Little'] continued his three point shooting hot streak as he found his way to 11 points including three 3's. Senior wing JD Etherly also provided an offensive spark with 10 points for Richwoods.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->