A new head coach with a background of success and a program playing its best in years left the Joliet Junior College Event Center as Region 4 Division 3 men's basketball champions Sunday afternoon.
 
The Chaparrals grabbed the lead from the outset and never trailed, leaving top-seed Madison College in their wake in an 85-69 victory and the right to represent the region in Saturday's Great Lakes District Championship on their home court.
 
"Today was a testament on what it takes to play masterful defense,'' said head coach and Region Coach of the Year Joe Kuhn, who took the COD job after 25 years of success at Joliet. "Our pressure forced them to struggle offensively and you could see it as the game went on that they were tight.''
 
The Chaps, 19-13 overall and winners of six straight, take on Region 12 champion Lorain County (Ohio) at 1 p.m. Saturday at PEC Arena for the right to advance to the NJCAA Championship Tournament, on March 15-18 in Herkimer, N.Y.
 
COD forced 20 turnovers and scored 31 points on those miscues in a game that saw COD lead by double digits for the final 28-plus minutes.
 
Sophomore guard Drew Gaston, who was named tourney MVP, led the Chaps in scoring with 21 points, and became just the sixth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points in his career.
 
He broke the barrier with a jumper that gave COD a 32-18 lead with 5:25 left in the first half. He has now scored 1,017 points.
 
Gaston was joined by the entire starting five in double figures. Alijah Nelson scored 17 (10-of-12 free throws), Gerald Tate 12 with nine rebounds, and Finn Walsh and Matt Elliott each scored 10.
 
COD earned its first 10-point lead on a Tate layup with 9:52 remaining, and a minute and half later, led by at least 10 for good on Elliott's free throws for a 25-14 advantage with 8:15 left.
 
The Chaps led 41-28 at halftime, and then poured it on, outscoring the WolfPack 18-6 in the first 6:45 of the second half for their largest lead of the game, 59-34.
 
Elliott and Walsh joined Gaston on the all-tournament team.
 
"We fed off our defense,'' Kuhn said. "The effort was there all game. Teams can't stop us when we pass and share the ball. It's been so gratifying to see our play this late in the season. We've been through our share of adversity and the guys have come together.''
 
Kuhn noted the change in the Chaps happened during a 73-68 loss to D2 Rock Valley. Since that game, COD has won nine of 11 games.
 
"That game is what turned it around, because we've been a player-led team ever since,'' he said. "Guys are unselfish, coming off the bench, and we're playing for each other. That's what you want to see late in the season.''
 
The region title is COD's first since 2009 and the eighth since 1995. The six-game winning streak is COD's since it won eight straight in 2015-16.