DANVILLE — When the season began, Danville Area Community College men’s basketball coach Mike Carpenter warned his team that it might go through some struggles in the early part of its schedule. Carpenter said this season’s nonconference schedule was the toughest it has ever been in his six years as coach.

DACC managed only five wins prior to beginning play in the Mid-West Athletic Conference, but just a Carpenter promised, the Jaguars have since been on a tear. And with Wednesday’s 77-67 win over Illinois Central College, DACC has now won nine of its last 10 games and is riding a six-game winning streak with only four contests remaining before the Region 24 Tournament.

“We talked a lot early about not worrying about results, but looking at how we are improving as a team,” Carpenter said. “Building guys into their roles, playing together. It’s a learning process. We told them that once we got into January, you would see that our schedule would show in the results.”

The Jaguars have lost only one game since the calendar turned. Making Wednesday’s win all the more special was defeating ICC, the very team that gave DACC it’s lone conference loss.

When the two teams met in East Peoria on Jan. 21, ICC erased a three-point halftime deficit and outscored DACC 52-29 in the second half. Looking back, the setback hurt the Jaguars much more than a mark in the loss column. It turned into an issue of pride.

“Everybody took that one real personal,” DACC sophomore guard Brandon Demmings said. “When we played at ICC, the players were laughing and putting in players that don’t really play at all. The crowd was laughing at us. It was just a big embarrassment. We knew that we couldn’t let that happen again.”

The Jaguars led the Cougars by 15 points late in the first half of Wednesday’s game, but watched the advantage slowly slip away in the final four minutes of the half. There were flashbacks of the previous meeting as ICC pulled to within 39-35 at the break. But a quick pep talk reduced any worry and prevented a repeat of the disastrous loss.

“We just told them to not let the same thing happen twice,” Demmings said. “In the first half we were up 15 and we started playing real fast. We started turning the ball over and were taking quick shots. In the locker room, we were just telling everybody to slow down and keep everybody’s head on straight. Don’t get down about it. We’re all going to make mistakes. It’s just part of the game.”

Runs are also part of the game, and DACC used runs of 13-4 and 7-2 in the second half to go up by as many as 17.

Sophomore Shea Sumpter scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half. Perhaps more important was limiting the offense of ICC’s Tyler Bell. After scoring an impressive 14 points in the first half, Bell was limited to only three field goal attempts in the second and scored seven points.

“We got the big lead by our defense — defending and rebounding,” Carpenter said. “It enabled us to get the ball out and run in transition, and get fast breaks. That’s where everything starts with us is on the defensive end.”

Three other players scored in double figures for DACC including Derek Shouse (16 points), Demmings (14 points, seven rebounds), and EvanBlackmon (13 points, 10 rebounds).

While the Jaguars have now won six in a row, their primary goal is staying focused on the next opponent. After all, focus is what has helped lead them to the top of the conference standings.

“I really don’t think about it like that,” Sumpter said of the streak. “We take it one game at a time. It’s not over yet. Until we get to nationals, we’re not satisfied, and we shouldn’t be. I think if we get too satisfied and too comfortable with ourselves, we’ll lose again. I just feel like we need to focus on one game at a time and not worry about streaks. At any minute, that streak can be over with.”

DACC will travel to Springfield on Saturday to take on Lincoln Land before returning home Wednesday to face John Wood.