Leyden shot down by Willowbrook
Every inch of the court seemed within scoring distance for Willowbrook.
Five players struck for double-digit points as the Warriors' offense hit from inside and out in Wednesday's 70-53 victory over Leyden.
Six 3-pointers did a large chunk of damage in the West Suburban Gold Conference boys basketball game in Villa Park, but offensive rebounds and putbacks also led to a frustrating night for the Eagles (7-9, 2-4). Coleman Lydon scored 10 of his 12 points in the third quarter while the Warriors (10-8, 3-3) maintained a comfortable lead.
"The whole team played very well tonight," Lydon said. "If we share the ball like that, we can be a dangerous team. We just need to keep working hard, crashing the boards, playing good defense."
The third quarter was especially a shame for Leyden, which finally got its offense going in a 9-2 run that narrowed the gap to 32-26. But the many putbacks allowed the Warriors to creep back ahead by 10 points by the end of the frame.
A 10-2 run near the start of the fourth quarter, sparked by Graham Olatunji's 3-point play and Phillip Reid's 3-pointer, put the Warriors safely ahead 58-41 in a game rescheduled from a Dec. 19 cancellation.
"They did a fantastic job on the glass, and that was the game," said Leyden coach Bill Heisler. "We just didn't respond very well rebounding. It was just very frustrating. I didn't think our effort was as good as it should have been."
While Willowbrook thrived with balance - Kyler Market paced the team with 14 points while Lydon, Reid and Montrell Flanders added 12 and Olatunji pitched in 11 points - Alex Regalado was the main offensive force for the Eagles.
Aggressive to the basket, especially in the second half, the senior guard scored a game-high 21 points including 12-of-16 free throw shooting. Ten of the free throws came in the fourth quarter.
But from the moment Willowbrook slammed the Eagles with a 9-0 first-quarter run, building a 28-12 lead late in the first half, the Warriors showed it was going to be a long night for Leyden's defense.
"I thought we spread the ball around nice," said Willowbrook coach Tim Lavorato. "I didn't even realize we had five guys in doubles figures, but that's very good. It's good because we scored in different quarters different ways."
Box score
willowbrook 70, leyden 53
Leyden - Lazcano 2 0-0 4, Woolf 2 2-2 7, Cushion 3 0-0 8, Regalado 4 12-16 21, Borrentrager 3 2-2 8, Chaidez 1 0-0 2, Saboya 1 0-0 3, Stinson 0 0-0 0, Dionido 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 16-20 53.
Willowbook - Miller 3 0-0 7, Reid 5 0-2 12, Market 5 2-3 14, Olatunji 4 3-3 11, Flanders 5 1-2 12, Redmer 0 0-0 0, Lydon 6 0-0 12, Schmidt 1 0-0 2, J. Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 6-10 70.
Leyden 6 11 19 17 -53
Willowbrook 13 15 18 24 -70
3-point baskets: L: Cushion 2, Woolf, Regalado, Saboya; W: Reid 2, Market 2, Miller, Flanders.
Fouled out: None.