CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – For the second straight game, aggressive defense keyed the Champaign Swarm in a 124-96 victory over the Gateway Steam on Thursday night at Parkland College.

The Swarm had 14 steals -- 10 in the first half -- and forced another 13 turnovers.  At 2-0, Champaign is the only undefeated team in the Midwest Professional Basketball Association. Gateway fell to 1-4.

A 34-19 lead after the first quarter meant head coach Chris Daleo could go to his bench early. Every player played at least 11 mintues, and all but one Swarm player tallied points.

“I was happy, because I went to my bench,” Daleo said, whose club led 63-36 at halftime. “They got major minutes in order to work on rotations and playing together. It was a good team victory.”

The bench racked up 48 points, led by guard Aaron Weaver’s 14 points on 5-for-12 shooting. Matt Neaville had 13 points and shot 3-for-7 from three-point range. Champaign native Jordan Walker chipped in 10 points, while Silas Mills grabbed 12 rebounds.

Swarm guard Rashard McGill was matched by Gateway guard Chris Babbitt for a game-high 20 points. Champaign guard Robert Broughton had 19.  Mark St. Fort registered the only double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

A break in the schedule means Champaign does not play again until Jan. 25 when they host the Windy City Groove.

“We’re going right back to work,” Daleo said. “We can’t rest. These guys are here to learn basketball. We don’t take a day off. It’s my job to prepare my club to make them better basketball players and win more games.”

Gateway is also off for ten days until they host the Bloomington Flex.