The Elgin Community College’s men’s basketball team sit at fourth place in the NJCAA Division III rankings with an overall record of 12-15.

It’s been a long journey for the Spartans as they went on a six-game loss streak that began with a loss to Prairie State College, early in the semester and ended on Feb. 3 with a 70-68 win at Morton College.

“The first half was basically a wake-up call,” said Chaquille Bennett, a second-year student at ECC. “But when it came down to the second half we all came out with a different mentality and a higher intensity, and that worked as a catalyst to put us over when it came down to beating them.”

The winning shot was a buzzer-beater scored by Xavier Williams, a first-year student.

The Spartans then went to Waubonsee College on Feb. 6 seeking to acquire a victory but fell short in the 66-64 loss.

There are three conference games left for the Spartans to battle through before they head to playoffs.