A 9-14 record didn't tell the whole story about the 2020-21 Morton College men's basketball team. The Panthers easily could have been 14-9 as Morton College lost five games by less than five points and another one in overtime.

Instead, it was all about the marked improvement shown by each team member starting in game 1 and continuing all the way through game 23 in the eyes of first-year head coach Glen Heffernan, who brought the most extensive experience at the NCAA Division I level to Morton College since Rick Kilby and Conte Stamas.

The season ran from late January to early April with no conference season. Also with most Division II teams in Region IV sitting this season out, the Panthers had to play up a notch with six home-and-home series against NJCAA Division I opponents. Morton College also took on three prep schools in Don Bosco, International Sports Academy and Illinois Prep. Don Bosco featured seven future NCAA Division I players, while ISA also had a number of players moving on to the next level.

"Our team definitely got better as the season went along," Heffernan said. "We had to grow up fast because of our schedule. Had we been able to play our conference schedule, I think we could have made a run at being one of the top teams in the Skyway."

Team high points included the Panthers reaching the century mark three times and registering the 1,200th win in program history during a 106-67 decision over Bay in February. Morton College also mounted a furious comeback to take down Kankakee for the first time since 2012-13 season with an 84-81 win on the road on Nikola Sinik's game-winning three-pointer with a second left. The Panthers were down 18 at halftime and by 10 with 9:52 left.

The Panthers definitely featured a balanced attack with four players scoring between 10 and 12 points per game with a fifth toying in double digits. Latik Murphy and Malik Tidwell tied for Morton College's top scorer at 12.4 points per game.

The 6-4 Murphy, who plans taking advantage of a third season at the community college level thanks to the NJCAA's ruling on handling a COVID altered competition, was Morton College's leading three-point shooter at 42.9 percent, making 42 of 98 attempts. He also shot 82.7 percent from the free-throw line.

The Morton West graduate was Morton College's only representative on the all-Region IV team. The transfer also was all-Region IV the previous season at Bryant & Stratton.

"He comes from a great high-school program at Morton," Heffernan noted. "We look forward to him coming back. He can score in a lot of ways and we'd ask him to guard the other team's best offensive player. He really gives it a 100 percent at both ends of the court."

Tyrique McMurrin, who also plans on returning, according to Heffernan, averaged 9.6 points and a team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game. He gave a glimpse of what's coming in the 2021-22 season during a five-game stretch in March where the 6-5 McMurrin shot 61.3 percent (38 of 62) and averaged 19 points per game with three 20-point performances.

The Panthers have a number of players with offers from four-year schools on the table.

Among those is Tidwell, whose memorable three-pointer in the closing seconds of regulation sent the Panthers to overtime against Bryant & Stratton in the Region IV playoffs. Tidwell's powerful frame made it easy for him to attack the basket and get to the free-throw line, where the 5-10 guard shot a team-leading 84.4 percent by making 65 of 77 attempts. Tidwell also led the Panthers with 57 assists and was second with 20 steals in being named to the all-Region IV Tournament Team.

"Malik's a very good player," Heffernan said. "He's not scared to take the big shot."

Sharp-shooter Sinik averaged 10.2 points per game and shot 40.2 percent from three-point range in making 39 of 97 attempts. He had four 20-point games, including a season-high 28 in the Panthers' 106-67 win over Bay February 20th where the 6-7 Sinik connected on 6 of 8 threes. During a nine-game stretch from February 13th to March 8th, Sinik shot 52.7 percent in making 23 of 44 threes.

Drake Montgomery, a 6-3 combo guard, was Morton College's fourth player in double-digits, averaging 10.0 points per game. Of the starters, Montgomery had the highest field-goal percentage at 44.8 percent. He also was first in steals (36) and second in assists (57).

Tavis Stampley gave the Panthers a nice inside presence, averaging 6.9 points and 3.7 rebounds. The 6-5 forward had a season-high 16 points against International Sports Academy.

Of the reserves, Isiah Burd, Taeyon Neal and Will Norman came up with significant contributions.

Burd came up with a double-double, producing 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in an 81-71 win over Moraine Valley in March. The 6-3 guard also had five assists.

Norman, a 6-2 guard, also saved his best for last, netting 10 points on 2-of-2 shooting from three-point range in the Panthers' season-ending OT loss to Bryant & Stratton. He shot 43 percent from three-point land.

The 6-10 Neal displayed he could be a good passer and inside presence with a seven-point, four-rebound, two-assist showing in a win over Moraine Valley.

"We're looking forward to next season," Heffernan said. "There was a bit of a learning curve because of COVID, but I liked the way we progressed and got better. We appreciate the support of the leadership at Morton College for allowing us to have a season and compete."