Out of nowhere
The Waubonsie Valley deluge came without warning.
The first half of the championship game at the 24th annual Warrior Boys Basketball Christmas Classic ended with the host Warriors leading Hinsdale Central 21-20.
In the third quarter Waubonsie outscored the Red Devils 24-2, lifting the Warriors to a 62-50 victory and earning its own title in Aurora for the first time since 2004.
Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer summarized the run in one word: "Wow."
"I knew (the Red Devils) were going to make a run, and so I told our guys, 'You guys have got to have high energy right now and let's get going,' " he said.
"And our defense got us going. We got some transition plays because our defense was active and got us going, made some layups. We kind of built off that and just kept the ball rolling."
After a second quarter Weemer termed "a little stagnant" -- Zamarri Doby's free throw with 2:59 left in the half broke a 20-20 tie -- Waubonsie Valley (13-3) began the third with a Jelani Johnson 3-pointer, saw Hinsdale Central answer in transition, then reeled off 21 straight points.
Johnson scored 7 of his team-high 16 points in the third. Justin Peaster scored 8 of his 15 points and Josh Daniels, Kyle Obendorf and Crayton Kendrick also opened the floodgate.
"We knew this was the championship, and it was on our home floor," said Johnson, a 6-foot-3 junior who helped run things with point guard Kevin VandenBerg nursing a thumb injury.
"We knew we had to win this. We haven't won (the Classic) in a long time, so we all came together and stepped up."
It was a long third quarter for 2005 tourney champ Hinsdale Central (9-4).
The Red Devils committed 8 turnovers in that time, all-tourney senior Chris Chana picked up his third and fourth fouls, and coach Ed Lynch drew a technical.
Yet his boys clawed from their 45-22 hole to twice get within 9 points. Abe Saleh's inside basket made it 56-47 with 1:46 left in the game.
"I was proud of the kids," Lynch said. "They didn't quit."
Charlie Kaplan, scoring a career-high 17 points, keyed the rally with Mike Ellis and Jason Rafferty, who had 13.
Waubonsie Valley three-year varsity guard Josh Daniels helped hold off the Red Devils from the foul line.
"It feels good to have one championship under our belt," Daniels said. "It's not a regional championship, but it's still good."