College of DuPage had its season come to an end Thursday in a 69-59 opening-round loss to ninth-seed Black Hawk in the Region 4 Division II (Midwest District A) men's basketball tournament.

Sophomore guard Greg Strong led the eighth-seeded Chaps with 15 points and forward Braylen Meredith followed with 13 for COD, which closed the season 21-10.

The Chaps were within a two-possession game when freshman Charles Farrell connected on a 3-pointer that pulled COD to within four points of the lead, 45-41, with 12:03 left in the game.

Black Hawk answered right back, triggering a 15-2 run in nearly six minutes to earn its largest lead of the game, 60-43 on Dion Doyle's basket with 6:14 left.

COD got as close as seven (64-57) on Meredith's 3-pointer with 1:09 left.

Meredith led in rebounds with seven. Strong's two 3-pointers left him with 133 for his career, tying the school record with Ryan Tyszkiewicz (2006-08).

Black Hawk (17-13), which won its ninth straight and 10th in its last 11 games, faces Bryant and Stratton in the semifinals  at noon Sunday in Rockford.