Proviso East 77, Willowbrook 74
Willowbrook and Proviso East didn't trade punches in the second, third and fourth quarters on Friday. They landed haymakers, squarely on each other's chins.
In the end Willowbrook's jaw took a little more damage in a 77-74 loss to a Pirates team that simply brought the ball up and attacked the basket throughout the West Suburban Gold game in Villa Park.
"It was about our defense tonight," said Warriors coach Tim Lavorato. "We kept the ball out of the middle in the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter we did not."
After outscoring the Pirates 27-6 in the third quarter, Willowbrook (15-6, 6-3) gave up 30 fourth-quarter points to Proviso East (8-13, 6-3). The Pirates got in the lane and either scored or got fouled in erasing the Warriors' 55-47 lead after three quarters.
"All we worked on in practice all week was stopping penetration to the lane," said Willowbrook's Milton Colbert, who paced the Warriors with 27 points and 12 rebounds. "When you let a team get into the middle like that, one way or another they're going to get points."
Proviso East went 23 of 29 from the free-throw line, while the Warriors finished 7 of 11.
Willowbrook led 16-14 after a quarter, with Kyler Market, Joe Flood and Kevin Pohl netting 4 points apiece, but Proviso East put 24 points on the board in the second quarter to take a 41-28 halftime lead.
Randy McGaha scored 17 of his game-high 29 points in the second quarter to lead the Pirates' offensive explosion.
Willowbrook has played well in the second halves of games all year, and the Warriors bounced back strong in the third quarter. Jamell Hunter got his open-floor game rolling to the tune of 14 points in the third, as Willowbrook earned a 27-6 scoring edge.
"That's how he's been playing for us all year," Lavorato said. "He plays with a lot of energy, he attacks the basket well and has a great feel for the game."
The Warriors' defense also found its energy in the third quarter.
"We needed to get our heads in the game," Colbert said. "We made history by beating them at their place for the first time, and we had to come out hard and protect our home floor."
Willowbrook led 74-73 when Hunter fed Colbert for a fastbreak dunk, but the Pirates answered by attacking the basket twice in the final minute while the Warriors failed to score.
"We weren't getting our weak-side players to rotate over," Lavorato said. "That was a key to the game, along with our inability to keep guys out of the middle."