Clay, Willowbrook flip the script at Hoffman Estates
On Tuesday night in Hoffman Estates, the Willowbrook boys basketball team looked like it was slow dancing in the first half of the nonconference matchup.
The second half the Warriors came out doing the Freddie - a much more lively stance led by junior point guard Freddie Clay.
Clay helped his team erase its 10-point halftime deficit, as the Warriors scored the first 10 points of the second half to tie it at 28 after the first 2:10 of the third quarter.
The Warriors eased away in the fourth quarter to secure a 51-44 victory.
"We had to get our defense going in the second half so we could get the momentum going our way," said Clay. "The team depends on me for my energy, and that helped the others get involved."
Clay scored off of a steal and scored on another of the Hawks' 18 turnovers before assisting Ethan Schuemer's three-point play. Billy Degnan connected on a 3 after a turnover to complete the 10-0 run.
Hoffman Estates (8-13) didn't lose its composure and took a 35-30 lead with 3:25 left in the quarter on a 3 by Konrad Kieruzal.
Willowbrook knotted it at 35 with baskets by Matthew Meyers (a 3) and Clay.
As they did in quarters one and two, the Hawks scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter for a 40-35 lead with 6:30 left in the game.
Willowbrook chipped away and took the lead for good at 45-42 a 3 by Degnan (17 points) with 2:19 remaining.
Clay came up with another big play by stealing a inbounds pass and scoring to make it 47-42 with 1:14 left.
Brandon Hall (10 points, 9 rebounds) scored for Hoffman Estates moments later, but Degnan and Cornelius Paxton hit 2 free throws each to extend the lead to 51-44.
Clay played a strong game at the point, with four assists to go with 7-of-12 shooting from the field for his 15 points.
"I give a lot of credit to my brother Charles," said Clay. "He started working with me when I was in fourth grade on my dribbling skills. He taught me how to handle the ball under pressure."
"Freddie's a junior, but it's his second year on varsity," said coach Chris Perkins. "We need to make sure he stays aggressive when he's out there. Good things happen."
It was a disappointing loss for the Hawks after their thrilling overtime win over Fremd on Saturday night.
"It was a just a tale of two halves," said Hawks coach Luke Yanule. "The turnovers to start the second half hurt us. Our execution and fouls that we committed hurt us. We didn't get many good shots in the second half. We didn't have guys in the right spots."
Jorden Thornton, who was plagued by foul trouble, led Hoffman Estates with 13 points.
The Hawks were on target in the first half, hitting 11 of 23 shots, but finished the game 17 of 41 for 41 percent.
Willowbrook shot just 32 percent in the first half (8-for-25) but rallied with a strong second half, hitting on 11 of 20 to finish at 42 percent.
"We came out a little flat," said Perkins. "We've had three games in four days. Our press in the second half turned it around for us."