Lockport thwarts St. Charles North's final attempt
St. Charles North was going for the win.
"The play designed was for David Johnson to get a 3," said St. Charles North junior standout Josh Mikes.
But Lockport swarmed the North Stars at the arc, forcing a desperation shot at the buzzer that Lockport forward Ed Ward blocked to perserve the Porters' 47-45 victory in the Martin Luther King Day of Hoops at Central High School in Joliet on Monday afternoon.
"We didn't lose the game on the final possession," said St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin, whose squad dropped to 10-9.
Poulin had called timeout with 13 seconds remaining, but the Porters' suffocating defense forced the team, in Mikes' words, "to freelance out there."
"Everybody was out there scrambling, and we were switching," said Ward. "I just happened to be in the area for help-side (defense)."
The game was tight throughout, and Mikes' inside scores on three consecutive possessions late in the second quarter provided St. Charles North the largest lead for either team at 24-18.
The junior southpaw had 14 of his game-high 20 points in the opening half, which ended with North nursing a 24-22 lead.
But the Porters' zone was much more effective in the third quarter as Mikes was held scoreless while attmepting a lone shot from the field.
"They tightened up for their defense in the second half," Mikes aaid. "It made it more difficult to get the ball. (In the first half) there were times when we found gaps in their zone."
Lockport (12-6) reversed its fortunes with offensive rebounding, and Dmonte Hopkins' free-throw jumpers to conclude the third quarter and open the fourth gave the Porters their largest lead at 38-33.
The Porters' inside-outside one-two punch of Landon Gamble and Karrington Ward proved difficult to contain.
The duo combined for 33 points, and the North Stars' perimeter attack was off target for much of the contest.
Chris Conrad nailed a NBA-length 3-pointer to give the North Stars new life, forging a 40-40 tie with four minues, 19 seconds to play.
St. Charles North post Ryan Brown (6 points) gave the squad its last lead with a free throw, only to see Lockport duplicate its largest lead with a 6-point burst.
Mikes' 2 free throws and a Brown score reduced to spread to one, but a turnover with 19 seconds to play cost North dearly.
"We need to take care of the basketball, defend and rebound," said Poulin. "Defensive rebounding is the difference in a lot of games."