Hinsdale South defeats Addison Trail

Addison Trail guard Manny Martinez wasn't expected to play in Friday's West Suburban Gold boys basketball game against Hinsdale South.

Martinez had just come off a three-week injury layoff because of a broken left index finger and he only had one day of practice under his belt before the contest.

Coach Brendan Lyons planned to play Martinez in the JV game to help him get back in the flow of the game.

But with the Hornets settling into a zone and the Blazers struggling to score points in the second half, Lyons needed his sharpshooting senior on the floor. Martinez, who went downstate during the postseason last year in the state's 3-point shooting contest, picked up where he left off. He hit four 3-pointers for Addison Trail after halftime to help his team stay close, but that wasn't enough as visiting Hinsdale South rolled to a 61-41 victory in Addison.

"He really played well and shot well," Lyons said. "We were struggling to score points."

Martinez led all Blazers with 15 points. Freshman guard James Pupillo added 8 points, including 5 in the first quarter as the hosts raced out to a 9-5 advantage. Addison Trail trailed only 21-19 at halftime. A big part of keeping it close was the tenacious defense on Hinsdale South's standout 6-foot-8 center, Brock Benson, who was limited to only 2 points in the first half.

"We were a little lackluster in the first half," said Hinsdale South coach Vince Doran, whose team improved its record to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference. "Give Addison Trail credit they did a nice job of really making it difficult for Brock inside. We were trying to figure out where they were coming from."

"We wanted to keep them guessing where the double (screens) was coming from," Lyons added.

In the second half, however, the Hornets heated up offensively led by Phil George, Ryan Johnsor and Johnnie Jasper who made some shots to combat the Blazers shutting down the inside play. George led Hinsdale South with 14 points while Johnson and Joe Petrak tallied 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Addison Trail (4-9, 0-3) struggled to take care of the ball and committed numerous turnovers, which fueled quick points by Hinsdale South, including a 10-0 run during part of the third quarter. The Blazers committed 14 turnovers in the second half.

Despite falling behind, Martinez kept shooting. His 3 late in the third quarter cut the deficit to 47-37, and Addison Trail was going to have the ball to start the final quarter. But Hinsdale South countered with a home-run 3-point shot as Jasper sank a 50-foot shot from beyond midcourt as the buzzer sounded.

"To me, it really sucked the life out of Addison," Doran said.

Martinez downplayed the significance of the buzzer-beater on breaking the team's spirit.

"Everyone hits a shot every now and then," Martinez said. "We wanted to keep going with it. (The difference in the game) was more of us making mental mistakes."