Addison Trail overcomes Waubonsie Valley
After Addison Trail beat Waubonsie Valley 50-43 in the second Class 4A Batavia regional quarterfinal Monday night, there were no judges holding up points like some Olympic sports.
That's right. Basketball doesn't give out style points, and that's what coach Brendan Lyons is stressing this postseason.
"Right now, it's about scratching and clawing and getting a win, playing another day. It's down to 1-0 seasons. We get three 1-0 seasons this week, we get a regional title," he said.
Next for the Blazers (17-11), seeded 12th in the Hinsdale Central sectional, is a Wednesday semifinal showdown against fifth-seeded Willowbrook.
Addison Trail got strong second-half free-throw shooting, played solid defense and got just enough offense to prevail over the 21st-seeded Warriors (9-18).
Breydon Hargrove, one of three Blazers to finish with 10 points, sank a jumpshot to put his team up 31-19 with 4:36 remaining in the third quarter. The Warriors proceeded then to go on an 8-0 run that was capped by Marcus Skeete's basket that pulled his team to within 31-27.
The Blazers then hit their next four free-throw attempts to go back up 35-27 before Waubonsie's Eric Cannon's shot ended the quarter with the Warriors trailing 35-29.
With 5:05 remaining in the game, the Warriors' Luke Gregorio hit a 3-point basket and Waubonsie trailed just 38-35. Later, the Warriors cut the Addison Trail lead to 5, but the Blazers were 10 of 12 during the final quarter from the free-throw line and stayed in control of the game.
Michael Williams led Addison Trail with 13 points. And besides Hargrove, Bobby Daniels and Michael Pudlo also scored 10 points.
Waubonsie was led by Skeete's 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Skeete, a freshman, was called up to the varsity for the postseason. He also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
"I thought he played really well. He played really hard," said Waubonsie coach Jason Mead.
The Warriors scored 14 points in the final quarter, their biggest output of the game.
"We missed a lot of shots in the first half and (the Blazers) didn't miss any free throws down the stretch," Mead said.
Addison Trail will be facing Willowbrook for the third time this season with both being members of the West Suburban Gold. The Warriors won both contests.
Lyons said facing a team like Willowbrook is different from facing a squad like Waubonsie because of the level of familiarity the teams have with each other. There are no unknowns.
"They know us and we know them and I told the team they are going to have to come and execute and compete," he said.