Schaumburg 67, Hoffman Estates 66
Drama, determination and decibel levels kept increasing as time was decreasing Wednesday night.
It was all part of a classic show by Mid-Suburban West boys basketball rivals Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates. One worthy of a sectional final being played out in a Class 4A regional semifinal at Conant's Perry Gym.
Junior stars Luke Mead of Hoffman and Cully Payne of Schaumburg took turns putting on phenomenal displays of will and skill. Others delivered critical contributions.
None was bigger than Perrish Bell's hustling rebound of a missed free throw and his tiebreaking free throw with 7.5 seconds left to lift No. 7 Schaumburg to a 67-66 win.
"When they went on the (13-point) run up to 10, everyone was a little worried," Payne said of Hoffman's 52-42 lead with 7:45 left. "You've got to play and let it go."
Payne scoring half of his 24 points in the final 6½ minutes has the Saxons (17-9) going into another rivalry clash at 7:30 p.m. Friday. They'll try to beat No. 2 Conant (20-6) on its home floor a third straight time with a regional title at stake.
No. 10 Hoffman (15-13) led 66-62 when junior reserve Kemill Long (13 second-half points, three 3s) hit 2 free throws at 1:15. Payne's pullup jumper led to a Bell steal and a 1-on-1 showdown between Payne and Mead.
Which wasn't what Hoffman wanted as Payne drove in and fouled out Mead with 39 seconds left.
"It was big," Bell said after six Saxons' defenders had little success slowing Mead as he had 25 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.
Payne split the free throws and stole an inbound pass with 27 seconds left. Brandon Bolger (12 points), who spent the first 6:35 of the fourth on the bench after a defensive lapse, was fouled with 12.7 seconds left.
"I was confident," Bolger said, "but it was a little nerve-wracking."
Bolger's first free throw tied it and then the 5-foot-9 Bell tracked down the miss on the second. Now it was his turn in the emotional spotlight.
"I was nervous," Bell said. "The second one slipped but (the first one) felt good."
Which was the one that mattered for the Saxons. But five tension-filled seconds still remained.
Hoffman got the ball to midcourt and called time with 1.7 seconds left. But Bolger leaped high into the air to start a celebration after he didn't give Casey Terry a clean look at a turnaround 3.
"I'm very proud of the kids with the way they competed down the stretch," said Saxons coach Bob Williams. "There was no quit in them."
There was none in Hoffman either as Chris Hall (11 points), Ben Collins, Steve Anderson, Mead and Long fueled a run that had it hoping for a third shot at Conant.
"Our guys deserved a better finish than that, but Schaumburg did a nice job hitting free throws at the end," said Hawks coach Bill Wandro.
"I thought we had control and had all the momentum," said an emotion-filled Mead. "They came out and started executing and we started turning the ball over and making little mistakes."