Persistence serves Burlington Central
To suggest it was a tale of two halves would not entirely be justified for Burlington Central on Monday morning at the Plano Christmas Classic.
Pitted against Lisle in the opening game of the 24-team boys basketball tournament, the Rockets' 56-43 victory was anything but conventional. The Rockets misfired on all 19 of their first-quarter field-goal attempts and entered halftime trailing 16-15 as their point total was slightly higher than their shooting percentage (14 percent on 5-for-35).
But Central (6-4), the No. 11 seed, surpassed its first-half point totals in both the third and fourth quarters to deny the 22nd-seeded Lions (3-9). The Rockets earned a date with sixth-seeded Streator in the championship bracket at 9 a.m. Tuesday while Lisle enters the consolation side against Sandwich.
"We got here early," said Central guard Ray Hunnicutt, who led both teams with 25 points. "Once we started missing shots (in the first quarter), we started panicking and that compounded things from there."
Fortunately for the Rockets, though, their defense was equally stingy against the Lions, holding Lisle to 6 of 23 from the floor and forcing more turnovers.
"At lease our defense enabled us to keep it close (in the first half)," Central coach Brett Porto said.
The Rockets' Ryan Ritchie had a steal and conversion on the Lions' opening second-half offensive possession; Central never lost the lead again as Hunnicutt single-handedly outscored Lisle in the third quarter.
Central closed the period on an 11-0 run to take a 34-22 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Bryce Warner spearheaded the unanswered outburst with a 3-pointer, a steal and key defensive rebound and assist. Lisle would answer in kind, though, to begin the fourth as Kazim Khan, who scored 7 straight points in the first quarter to give the Lions a 9-2 lead after one, had another personal run of 6 consecutive points all at the free-throw line to bring Lisle to within 39-33.
The key sequence of the game soon transpired, however, as Central scored on second-chance field goals on three straight possessions to regain its double-digit cushion.
"I thought it was a problem all game long," Lisle coach Mark LaScala said of the Rockets' 16 offensive rebounds. "We took a timeout in the first quarter to address it. We addressed it again at halftime. You turn good players into great players (without clearing the defensive glass)."
Lisle didn't come closer than 8 the rest of the way as Hunnicutt had 17 of his game-high total after halftime.
"Once we started hitting shots, our confidence went up," Hunnicutt said.
"The kids stuck with it," added Porto.
Khan paced Lisle with 21 points, and Cam Bell added 14 more for the Lions.
Ritchie and Moter Deng had 9 apiece for Central.