Addison Trail's pace, but Hinsdale South's win
Everything seemed to be trending Addison Trail's way ... everything except the scoreboard.
Despite a sluggish pace and Northwestern-bound Barret Benson being held scoreless in the first half, Hinsdale South's boys basketball team still held on for Friday's 48-44 West Suburban Gold victory over the Blazers in Darien.
"The pace was right where we wanted it," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. "We didn't care if the game was in the 20s because, obviously, everyone knows how good Barret is. They were just able to get enough separation on us."
Benson, a 6-foot-10 senior, scored all of his game-high 12 points in the second half as the Hornets (14-6, 4-2) gradually extended a 9-point halftime lead. A Benson bucket put Hinsdale South ahead 45-31 with two minutes to play before the Blazers (10-9, 2-3) staged a furious rally.
Ryan Zygowicz, who led Addison Trail with 11 points, Jack Kalbas and Nick Conrad drained 3-pointers as the margin shrank to 4 points in the final minute. Benson's two free throws in the final 10 seconds, however, extended the lead to 6 points and sealed the Hornets' win.
"They just kept hanging around," Benson said. "We knew they were going to play as hard as they could for the whole game, try to steal one from us. Good thing we just finished out the game."
Addison Trail's deliberate pace contained Hinsdale South early, but the Hornets grinded out a 21-12 halftime lead after the score was knotted at 8 apiece through the first quarter. The Blazers were their own worst enemy in the second quarter while committing 7 of their 14 turnovers.
A 7-0 third-quarter run pulled Addison Trail within 24-21 but Hinsdale South responded with a 9-2 burst.
All seven players who saw court time for the Hornets scored at least 5 points, including 7 points apiece from Brian Kern and Diamond Anderson. Colton Noel scored 9 points for Addison Trail while Conrad and Zach Novak added 8 points.
"They hit some big shots and we made 3 of 8 free throws down the stretch," said Hornets coach Brett Moore. "We're a tired basketball team right now. We need a couple of days off this weekend. We played like it at times."
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