A slow first half put Madison College down by more than double digits against rival College of DuPage in the NJCAA Division II Region 4 men’s basketball championship on Feb. 26.
The early 13-point deficit was too much for the WolfPack to overcome as they fell, 85-69, in the championship game.
Madison College ended the season with a 16-14 record in Jason Roscoe’s first year as head coach. The team was 5-3 in conference play, good for a second-place finish.
While some of the first-half difference was the result of a below-average shooting performance by the WolfPack, who hit just 40.7% of its shots, much of it was due to foul trouble.
College of DuPage outscored Madison College, 13 to 5, from the free throw line in the first half and 34 to 16 in the game. Deante Luster, the team’s second leading scorer, was limited to 11 points and fouled out of the game.
Sophomore forward Keith Hoffman led the team with 29 points and had 11 rebounds. He and Luster were the only players to score in double figures. Hoffman finishes his Madison College playing career with a total of 1,003 points and 495 rebounds.

Madison College 90, Harper College 59
The opening round of the NJCAA Division II Tournament saw Madison College dominate Harper College, 90-59, on Feb. 24. It was the second time in two weeks that Madison College beat Harper by more than 30 points.
Madison College scored the game’s first seven points and never trailed, leading 48-20 at halftime. Sophomore Keith Hoffman led all players with 24 points and nine rebounds. Deante Luster added 19 points, while Nik Feller scored 14.

Rock Valley 81, Madison College 67
A late-game cold spell dashed any hope the Madison College men’s basketball team had of closing out the regular season with a win. Former conference rival Rock Valley College held Madison College to just six points in the final eight minutes to score an 81-67 victory over the visiting WolfPack on Feb. 21.
The two teams battled closely throughout the game, which saw nine ties and 13 lead changes. In the final eight minutes, though, Rock Valley outscored the WolfPack, 22-6.
Luster led Madison College with 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting. Hoffman scored 13 points, hitting three of his team’s seven three-point shots. But he struggled shooting, converting just five of his 16 shots.

Milwaukee Area Technical College 87, Madison College 68
Madison College fell behind the No. 6-ranked team in Division II by 15 points at halftime and was unable to close the gap, falling to Milwaukee Area Technical College, 87-68, on Feb. 19. With the win, Milwaukee claimed its third-straight North Central Community College Conference title.
Hoffman led three double-digit scorers for the WolfPack, scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds. Luster added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Telin Porter finished with 10 points.

Madison College 104, Harper College 69
A strong shooting performance saw Madison College post its season-high points total in a 104-69 victory over host Harper College on Feb. 17. The WolfPack converted on 44 of 67 shots for a season-high 65.7% shooting.
Four players scored in double figures for Madison College, led by Hoffman with 29 points and seven rebounds. He became the first player in school history to score 900 career points and have 450 career rebounds.
Luster finished with 26 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to fall just short of a triple-double. Gustafson added 12 points, while Cortez Telefred had 10 points.