Mustangs defense puts clamps on Willowbrook

Everytime Willowbrook said hello, Downers Grove South's Malcolm Herron was there to say "buh-bye."

Herron scored 21 points and led an impressive team defensive effort to spark the Mustangs over visiting West Suburban Gold foe Willowbrook 61-36.

"We really clamped down on defense tonight," Herron said. "We were aggressive, had good help defense and had good rotation."

That defense and Herron's contributions at both ends of the court were at their best every time Willowbrook threatened to make a run against the more experienced Mustangs.

The Warriors (4-2, 0-1) took an early 3-2 lead when Downers South (5-2, 1-1) picked their pockets four times on the way to building a 10-6 lead. Herron had a steal and a basket during that sequence.

"Defense has always been our trademark at Downers South," said Mustangs coach Paul Runyon. "The energy that we put forth in that first period and for the entire first half was outstanding. Holding them to 16 points in the first half was really a tribute to our defense."

The Mustangs built a 17-8 lead in the opening minutes of the second period, and Willowbrook answered with an 8-point run of its own to cut the Downers South lead to a single point.

In the final minute of the period, Herron took responsibility for the offense and hit three shots in a row: a pair of long 2s and a layup to extend the lead to 23-16 at halftime.

"I go on a lot of runs," Herron said. "My teammates give me the ball, so I try to penetrate or hit from the outside to help the team."

"Herron is a nice player," Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato said. "Tonight is how Downers South does it. They hang around and hang around, then they make their runs on you. They never let us get in sync offensively. They body you, play physical and they knock you off of cuts.

"We're a young team, and we were taken out of our offense, but I felt we were good defensively tonight. We didn't give them much on offense either."

The second half was the same story. Herron hit the 3-pointer that put the Downers South lead permanently into double digits. But he saved the real drama for the fourth quarter.

He scored on a long-range 3-pointer and came down and rolled his ankle after the shot. He limped to the bench, shook off the injury and re-entered the game a minute later.

The first time he touched the ball, he swished another 3 to make the score 46-27 to put the game completely out of Willowbrook's reach.

"Malcolm has that ability to bust the game open offensively," Runyon said. "And he also did a great job on their top scorer, Kyler Market, holding him scoreless in the first half. What our team did tonight is what you expect from a veteran team with four starters returning. They know what they're doing."

Bledar Dervishi had 9 points, 9 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots for the Mustangs, and guard Alex Gorniak had 5 steals.

Market, with 9 points, and Phillip Reid, who scored 9 in the first half, were the Warriors' high scorers.