Matas Deksnys' offensive explosion against Prairie State February 15th was in the Marvin McGrew/Nick Dixon stratosphere.
While trying to hold a candle against Morton College's top two all-time leading scorers is difficult, Deksnys' effort certainly brought back a flashback of how prolific McGrew and Dixon were.
The 6-7 freshman went 12 of 15 from three-point range, scoring 36 points in just 23 minutes of playing time as Morton College posted an 84-56 Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference home win.
Six of Deksnys' seven first-half three-pointers came in the final 6:15 as his 21 points gave the Panthers a 36-33 advantage at intermission. His last four three-pointers came in a 100-second period. One of his misses was a desperation three-quarter heave before the halftime buzzer. All 12 of his three-pointers touched nothing but net. He put together strings of six and five consecutive made three-pointers.
His three-point outburst leapfrogged Deksnys 16 spots on the national leaderboard, moving him up from 34th to 18th.
In addition, Deksnys is the first Panther to score 30 points in a game since January 17, 2019 when Tyrone Rhivers put up 34 in an 83-80 overtime loss at Waubonsee.
Seven & seven
Devin Spencer finished with seven points and seven assists. He also had four steals.
Morton College's 21 assists was the seventh time the Panthers have passed the 20 or more assists in a game this season.
Fine lines
The Panthers only played seven against Prairie State, but all contributed.
Keondre Johnson added 18 points and six assists, while Tyrique McMurrin kicked in eight points, five rebounds and two assists. Xavier Spencer had a stat-stuffer effort with eight points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. J.R. Cison added five points and two assists. Tavis Stampley had two points and two assists.
Hot shots
Morton College shot over 50 percent for the sixth time in the last seven games. The Panthers have won all six games when they've done that. They were 32 of 59 for 54.2 percent overall against Prairie State, including a red-hot 62.5 percent (15 of 24) from two-point range and 48.6 percent (17 of 35) from three.
National numbers
Devin Spencer's 78 steals is fourth in the NJCAA D-2. He had four steals against Prairie State.
Matas Deksnys' 69 3-pointers is 18th nationally, while Keondre Johnson's 56 threes places him tied for 45th.
Morton College's 67.1 points per game allowed leaves the Panthers 14th nationally in that category.
Morton College's 258 three-pointers is sixth in the country.
Morton College's 16.6 assists per game is 32nd nationally.
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