Downers North times victory just right
This wasn't better late than never. This was better late than early.
A West Suburban Silver game postponed from Dec. 16, on Tuesday jelling Downers Grove North won a third straight game the first time this season with a 66-62 victory at Hinsdale Central.
"In retrospect it's a good thing, because they thumped us at our place," Trojans coach Jim Thomas said of a 70-57 loss Feb. 6. "If you call it taking a month off and getting better, we'll take it any way it comes."
Hinsdale Central coach Ed Lynch honored his seniors on senior night, which meant junior starting guards John Whitelaw and Nick Kladis didn't play the first quarter.
"If I could do it all over again I'd start my seniors and they'd play the whole first quarter," Lynch said. "They earned the right to play that first quarter. We had plenty of chances in three quarters to come back and didn't make the plays when we needed to."
He was right.
Behind Mark Perales' 3-point aim Downers North (10-14, 4-7) led 16-7 after a quarter and 22-9 early in the second. Whitelaw and Kladis mounted a charge to pull Hinsdale Central (12-12, 6-5) within 28-24 when 2.2 seconds before halftime Tom Benton's 3 gave the Trojans a 31-24 lead.
The race was on. Jason Rafferty's inside basket with 20 seconds left in the third quarter gave the Devils their sole tie, 44-44. With 0.3 seconds left in the quarter Benton canned another 3 to put the Trojans up 47-44.
"We knew that once Whitelaw and Kladis and those guys came in that they were going to come right back," said Benton, whose 15 points joined Kameron Norton's 21 and Perales' 12 in double figures for Downers North.
"That shot gave us that little bit of momentum that we needed to go into the fourth quarter."
Whitelaw scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, and a Kladis 3 cut the lead to 63-62 with 24 seconds left. Benton hit 2 free throws and James Sandifer 1 to seal the win. Hinsdale Central missed two 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds.
Abe Saleh had a unique senior night. Last summer the Hinsdale Central forward won a season of eligibility from the IHSA over a year's stay with family in Jordan as an underclassman.
"I was supposed to do senior night last year, but coach said there's a chance I may play this year so I might as well just wait and take the chance. And everything worked out," Saleh said.
Downers Grove North 66, Hinsdale Central 62
Downers North - Carney 0 0-0 0, T. Benton 4 4-6 15, Perales 4 1-4 12, Johnson 4 1-3 9, Norton 8 5-6 21, Raap 2 0-0 4, Petty 2 0-0 4, Sandifer 0 1-4 1. Totals 24 12-23 66.
Hinsdale Central- Marinkovich 0 0-0 0, Banghart 1 0-0 3, Williams 0 3-6 3, Saleh 0 0-0 0, Foster 4 2-2 10, Rafferty 4 2-3 10, Whitelaw 6 5-6 20, Kladis 5 0-0 14, Brennan 0 0-0 0, Vernon 1 0-0 2, Lyons 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 12-17 62.
Downers North 16 15 16 19 -66
Hinsdale Central 7 17 20 18 -61
3-point baskets: DGN: T. Benton 3, Perales 3. HC: Kladis 4, Whitelaw 3, Banghart.
Fouled out: HC: Williams Saleh.