Lisle speeds past Fenton

The pent-up energy of a tournament-opening nightcap produced a frenetic pace. Lisle likes that.

“Sometimes it doesn't look pretty because we kind of ram it down their throats and we get going a little too fast,” said Lions coach Mark LaScala. “But when we find our tempo we're more productive, up and down.”

Lisle was up and down Wednesday at the 53rd annual Plano Christmas Classic. Fenton, in its Plano debut, had something to do with that. But after the Bison rallied to grab a 2-point lead with four minutes to play, Lisle closed on a 16-2 run to win 61-49.

“There was a series of plays where we called different offensive sets, they weren't executed,” said Fenton coach Josh Payton.

“I think that consistency needs to be our focal point as we go forward,” he said.

Lisle (6-5) pushed tempo from the start and found Mark McGrath and Ryan Gillen for shots. The Lions — namely McGrath, who grabbed 14 rebounds to go with 19 points — also battled the taller Bison inside.

“When we get going we play at our best,” said Lisle point guard Derrick Redmond, who scored 9 points with 4 steals. “When we're going in motion I feel like they ain't going to stop us when we're in transition.”

That was the thrust of Lisle's 29-19 halftime lead, but Fenton (4-5) wasn't done.

“Our coaches just kept pushing us to play our game,” said Javier Sanchez, a 5-foot-8 spark off the bench. “Pushing the ball more quickly and getting the ball down and just passing. Not dribbling much, just playing as a team.”

An unfortunate play aided the Bison. Bryan Larsen drew an offensive charge and remained face down for several minutes. He eventually walked off the court bleeding over his right eye and did not play again. He returned to the bench and left the gym with his team but said he was headed to the hospital to assess the damage.

Fenton outscored Lisle 19-10 in the third quarter, and when Sanchez converted a K.J. Jones steal it tied the game 45-45 with 4:37 left to play. Eric Trujillo drove for a 47-45 Fenton lead with 4:07 left, its first lead since the first quarter.

Then came Bryan O'Connell time. Taking his sole shot of the game, the Lisle junior forward laced a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Re-energized, over the last 3:32 Lisle suffered only Derrian Warren's coast-to-coast score as the Lions closed hard. Warren finished with 8 points, 10 rebounds and Joe Andrews scored 10 for the Bison. Gillen led Lisle with 21.

“That's just my job, just get in the game and shoot,” O'Connell said. “The pressure of it didn't really bother me much. I like to just go in and do my thing.”