Schaumburg holds on with Williams off

ROCK FALLS -- Rock Island was trying to send Schaumburg's boys basketball team to another rocky finish Saturday night.

The Saxons saw a 17-point third-quarter lead slashed to 5 points four times in the final 4:20 of the Rock Falls Shootout, similar to late-game situations where they fell apart in losses to Hoffman Estates, Fremd and Peoria Manual.

But this time Schaumburg (10-5) held it together for a 66-61 victory at Tabor Gymnasium.

"The best thing we can say is we finished the game," said Schaumburg junior Cully Payne, who had 24 points and 6 assists. "We shouldn't let them get that close, but at least we finished it."

And gave first-year assistant coach Luke Yanule a victory in his varsity head coaching debut.

Schaumburg head coach Bob Williams had to miss the first game of his career as a result of IHSA rules after he received 2 technical fouls and was ejected in the final game of the Pontiac tournament.

"Today he (Williams) came out," Payne said of the pregame walkthrough, "and said you've got my back. That got me kind of a little motivated."

It showed as the DePaul recruit had bookend 10-point first and fourth quarters. Payne shot 7-for-11 from the field and hit all 10 of his free throws.

But he was hardly a one-man show, as Brandon Bolger scored 13 of his 17 points and hit both of his 3-pointers in the second half.

Senior Dan Slowik scored 9 of his 12 points in the first half. Mick Trimarco, Blake Mueller, Sean Everitt and Josh Spandiary played valuable minutes off the bench.

"For everything we've been through," said Yanule, who played for Dennis Zelasko on Notre Dame's 1997 Elite Eight qualifier, "I'm very proud of them."

Yanule looked as if he would cruise to his first varsity win against a young Rock Island (5-10) team trying to avoid just its sixth losing season since 1980-81.

Slowik scored 7 straight points -- including a 3 after the Saxons worked the ball for more than a minute -- to help extend a 20-13 lead to 32-16.

"We were finding each other a lot better than we have in the past," Slowik said. "We were all looking for each other … and we were all working together as a team."

Rock Island had 15 turnovers and shot just 7-for-19 in the first half.

"We did get after it," Yanule said. "But we've got to understand we have to get after it in the third and fourth quarters, too."

Standout freshman Chasson Randle (19 points on 8-for-13 shooting) and junior DQ Johnson (16 points) led a Rock Island rally to within 53-48 with 4:20 left.

But the Rocks' best chance to get closer was thwarted as Mueller's block of a Randle layup led to Trimarco's drive with 3:25 to play.

"We need to finish the game," Slowik said, "and play all four quarters to our ability."