Willowbrook holds off Addison Trail
It lived up to the cliché.
Throwing out the records, Willowbrook held off Addison Trail 58-51 in Tuesday's pitched West Suburban Gold boys basketball showdown in Villa Park.
Even though the host Warriors (11-3, 3-1) boasted a higher winning percentage and a 10-game winning streak over Addison Trail (3-11, 0-3) heading into the game, the Blazers held tough.
Tied 51-51 with two minutes left following a pair of free throws by the Blazers' Vince Beachem, Willowbrook closed with 7 straight points from 6-foot-5 senior Milton Colbert to seal its fourth straight victory.
"We knew they were going to come out hard," said Colbert, who scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. "Even though it was tied I knew we were going to win this game. We just kept our heads up."
A flurry of action followed Beachem's free throws. Willowbrook traveled, then the Blazers were whistled for a backcourt violation.
Colbert split a pair of free throws and the Blazers turned over the ball again with 28.5 seconds left.
The game's pivotal moment came when the Blazers were called for an intentional foul on Colbert with 21.7 seconds left. After hitting both free throws to put Willowbrook ahead 54-51, Colbert then converted on a three-point play to make it 57-51.
The Blazers were disappointed after coming so close to breaking their long losing streak in the Gold, but first-year coach Brendan Lyons feels his team can build upon the confidence they gained.
"I can't fault our kids' effort one bit," Lyons said. "They put everything on the line, they made it a game. They executed our game plan the best they could. It was great."
Willowbrook broke out to an 11-6 lead after one quarter, but Addison Trail grabbed its first lead at 12-11 on the third straight basket by Lormuel Jones.
Eleven lead changes highlighted the middle quarters as Addison Trail's zone defense stymied the Warriors. Willowbrook, however, countered with 20 offensive rebounds led by Colbert's 9 that led to six putbacks.
Joe Flood had 12 points for the Warriors, while Kyler Market and Jamell Hunter scored 9 points apiece.
Vince Noworyta tallied 12 points for Addison Trail before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Matt Davies, who hit three 3-pointers, and Ian Horvath each added 11 points in a balanced effort.
"A win's a win," said Warriors coach Tim Lavorato. "I would have liked to have played better and attack their defense better, but in the second half I thought we did a much better job."