Basketball Recap: Isaiah Pickens Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Southland College Prep

Proviso East posted their closest victory since January 30th on Monday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 59-56 win over Southland College Prep.

Proviso East got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Isaiah Pickens out in front who posted 16 points and six rebounds. Pickens has been hot, having posted 16 or more points the last seven times he's played. Another player making a difference was Ramsey Momon, who had 11 points.

Southland College Prep lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being David Shaw, who went 12 of 28 on his way to 33 points and four blocks. Shaw is becoming a predictor of Southland College Prep's success: when he posts at least 20 points the team is 4-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't). The team also got some help courtesy of Shaunn Cooper Jr., who dropped a double-double on 11 points and 12 boards.

Proviso East now has a winning record of 5-4. As for Southland College Prep, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 5-3.

Proviso East will be taking part in a tournament against Lincoln Park at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday. Lincoln Park knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past 12 games -- so hopefully Proviso East likes a good challenge. As for Southland College Prep, they will take on Longwood in a tournament on Thursday. Southland College Prep is facing Longwood at the right time seeing as Longwood is stuck on a three-game losing streak.