Hinsdale South runs past Addison Trail
Hinsdale South had the run of all runs Friday night against Addison Trail but had to hold on for a tight victory.
After trailing 6-1 early in the first quarter, the Hornets (5-2) rattled off 25 straight points to jump out to a 20-point lead. Hinsdale South forced 18 turnovers in the first half as it hung on for a 48-44 win.
"It was good that we started so hot and jumped all over them or the outcome could have been different," Hinsdale South coach Vince Doran said. "We got comfortable with our lead and got a little complacement in the second half. But we made some plays when we needed to to hold them off."
During the first half, the Blazers shot 4 of 14 from the field and 4 of 9 from the free-throw line.
Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons said he was upset with the way his team looked in the first half. He said that all his players have been building toward the last couple of years was thrown right out the window after that first half.
"They played the first half at game speed and we looked like we were at open gym," Lyons said. "We looked really slow. We looked like an eighth-grade team out there in the first half. After the first half we had, I couldn't even dream we had a chance in the second half. We were just flat."
But the Blazers looked like a completely different team in the second half. After leading by as much as 16 in the second half, the Blazers made a run. Down 34-18, Addison Trail went on an 18-4 lead to close the gap to a bucket. Chris Benjamin led the way during that run as he scored 8 points in that spurt.
But that run didn't surprise Doran.
"We knew those kids wouldn't quit," Doran said.
With less that 40 seconds left in the game, Hinsdale South's Lavonte Brown was sent to the line four times in a three-point game. Brown sank 3 of 4 foul shots to ice the game and help the Hornets hold on for the win.
Brown came off the bench to score 19 points, grab 5 rebounds, block 2 shots and get 4 steals. Brown agreed with his coach that the team got complacement in the second half with their lead.
"We didn't come out strong in the second half," Brown said. "We should have put the pedal to the metal, but we didn't. We need to not think about the lead we have and act like it is a tight ballgame so this doesn't happen again."
Peter Spear had a game-high 16 rebounds and 11 points in the loss for the Blazers (3-4).