Ball bounces Wheaton North's way in OT thriller vs. Hinsdale South

Back in March the Wheaton North and Hinsdale South boys basketball teams played an epic Class 4A sectional semifinal, which the Falcons won 55-53 on a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer.

On Thursday afternoon the teams met again at the 44th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York, and there was that same white-knuckle drama

And the same result.

The Falcons survived a half-court 3 attempt by Hinsdale South senior forward Zion Griffin that bounced in and out at the overtime buzzer and prevailed 52-51.

"Oh my gosh," said junior guard Jacob Schauer, who missed a free throw with 2.7 seconds left, which Griffin rebounded, setting up his long shot attempt. "Scary stuff, right? I was right behind him and then he shot and I literally put my hands over my head, going, 'That is perfect.'"

But just a shade under, which allowed the Falcons to improve to 6-5.

"When it left his hand, with that really nice trajectory, and it hit the backboard, yes, I thought it was in," said Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann. "It hit that rim about three times after it bounced off the backboard. The kid is such a good player, I wouldn't put it past him."

It was perhaps a signature win for the Falcons, mostly due to how they won. Griffin scored 7 out the gate to help the Hornets (10-3) jump out to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.

But behind 4 Schauer 3-pointers, including a pair from the left arc in the fourth quarter, and an assist on junior forward Deng Reng's layup with 54 seconds left in regulation, Wheaton North sent the game into overtime at 46-46.

That's when Reng took over. Guarding Griffin, he limited the Iowa State recruit to just 2 points in overtime on a pair of free throws. The Hornets didn't score again after a layup at 1:58 by sophomore forward Aaron Tims.

"Coach told us to pressure him and force him to his right, because he uses his left a lot," said Reng, who scored only 7. "Today, I had to step up defensively."

Meanwhile, Falcons senior forward Josh Sorenson scored a pair of layups at 1:45 and 1:13 to set the final score. He finished with a team-high 18 points and added 13 rebounds.

Hinsdale South had its chances to win late, but turnovers were a killer. That included a pass out of bounds with 26.5 seconds left in regulation and the score tied 46-46, and a jump ball that went Wheaton North's way with 1:30 to go in overtime that set up a Sorenson layup that set the final score. And then there was a loose ball that Schauer scooped up with four seconds left that put him on the line after a Brackmann timeout.

But postgame, both teams were talking about the shot that didn't quite fall.

"That last shot was a perfect example of a night where balls went halfway in, halfway out," Hinsdale South coach Brett Moore said. "Put that on top of guys being completely exhausted from playing three games in three days."

Which begs the biggest question of the night: What did Griffin himself think?

"I thought it was going in," said Griffin, who finished with 25 points and 14 boards. "It rattled, and I wanted the bounce to go my way. I felt good; I thought it was net. I was disappointed, but I was excited because it was such a good game."

The Hornets played without starting point guard Robert Barnes due to an ankle injury suffered a week ago.