Big Second Halves Lead To Weekend Sweep at DQ Classic

In their Friday evening showdown with Gogebic Community College, Vermilion found themselves trailing by one at the half with a score of 30-29. Using a run to open the half, the Ironhawks were able to outscore the Samsons by a score of 34-24 in the second half, exiting with a 63-54 win to get their record to 2-2 on the young season. The Ironhawks were led by Sophomore CJ Brown (Minneapolis, MN), who scored 16 pionts and ripped down 10 rebounds going 4-11 from the field and 7-11 from the free throw line. Freshman guards Jordan Samuelsson (Stockholm, Sweden) and Brian Ritchie (Louisville, KY) also contributed big minutes scoring 10 points a piece, with guard RaShawn Wilcox (Tokyo, Japan) helping out with 8 points and 8 rebounds, along with Sammy Russ (St. Paul, MN) also scoring 8 points. 

In the Saturday clash with fellow MCAC North opponent Minnesota North - Itasca, a cold start led to a rough half for Vermilion, as the Vikings jumped out to a 9-0 lead to open the contest. After fighting back to even things midway through the period, Itasca was once again able to push their lead to double digits and take a 38-27 lead into the half. However, a dominate half on both ends of the court in the second twnety minutes led the Ironhawks home, outscoring their opponents by a score of 49-24. Brown once again had himself a game, pouring in 30 points on only 15 shots, while also adding three rebounds and five assists to his weekend. Samuelsson and Russ once again were big for Vermilion, as they both contributed 10 points a piece, along with Freshman Rondai Banks (Roanoke, AL) adding in 8 points and 5 rebounds.

After his weekend, CJ Brown was named the inagural Paul "DQ Paulie" Ivancich Most Outstanding Player award after averaging 23 points and 6.5 rebounds for the weekend.

Vermilion returns to the court following the Thanksgiving holiday with a return trip to Gogebic for their classic, facing Gogebic on Saturday, November 26th and Bay College on Sunday, November 27th.