From start to finish, the Cyclones were battle-tested by a tough Elgin Community College squad. The back-and-forth continued into the final minutes when Moraine Valley edged ahead 77-70 on Sophomore Night.

This is always a tough matchup for the Cyclones as the Spartans have some top scorers and gave Moraine Valley a loss earlier in the season. In the first few minutes, the Cyclones ramped up the score for a 10-point lead before the Spartans put on a press to fluster Moraine Valley on offense and go on a 10-run to get within two points. Some free throws from Grantas Sakenis and Josh Lawson along with a clutch three from Reggie Strong put the Cyclones ahead by eight before halftime.

The Spartans turned up the pressure in the second half, taking a lead and sinking a stretch of three-pointers and free throws while the Cyclones buckets would not land. Within the last five minutes, the Cyclones tied the score before the Spartans went ahead by two. A missed Elgin free throw with 2:26 on the clock and consecutive scoring from TJ Lee (free throws), Strong (field goal and three) and Josh Lawson (field goal) gave Moraine Valley the final conference victory.

Strong and Lawson each finished with 21 points while Lee collected 15 and Ali Oralkan rounded it out with 10. This final game of the regular season gave the Cyclones a runners-up finish in the conference with a 10-4 record. They start playoffs on Feb. 26 with the opponent TBD.