It was a tough weekend for the Cyclones at the William R. Bear/Dimond Bros. Insurance Tournament at Highland Community College, Dec. 12-13. They faced some of the toughest competition they'll face all year, going 1-2, but are better prepared for what's to come in the new year.

The Cyclones started out strong in an initial 72-61 victory over Sauk Valley Community College. With two solid teams on the court, it could've been anyone's game. The Skyhawks played a zone, which slowed the flow down and kept the scores low, but the Cyclones were able to break through and take a lead near the end of the first half. After that point, they never trailed the Skyhawks. TJ Lee led the offense with 17 points. Reggie Strong and Ali Oralkan each collected 14 points while Oralkan grabbed 17 boards.

Moving on in the tournament the next morning, Moraine Valley faced nationally ranked Division I Moberly Area Community College, losing the effort 95-72. In the first half, the Cyclones were awestruck by a strong Greyhound squad and went down by 20 points. After rallying in the second half, they were a better matchup, scoring 43 to the Greyhound's 46. Strong led the offense with 20 points followed by Lee with 16 and Yousef Jarad with 13. Oralkan took control under the basket with 12 rebounds and added four blocks.

The final game for the Cyclones came later after the loss to Moberly for third place in the tournament. Moraine Valley faced Southeastern Community College in what became an intense and fired up matchup that landed in double overtime. Unfortunately, the Cyclones were edged out at the end, falling 80-75. Each team traded leads with the Blackhawks scoring more in the first half and the Cyclones taking the offense in the second half. It wasn't until the second overtime that the Blackhawks were able to pull away from a tired Cyclone crew. Strong led the offense once again with 20 points and grabbed seven boards. Josh Lawson had a double-double this game (18 points, 10 rebounds) while Jarad scored 13.