Downers Grove South dunks Naperville North

After Downers Grove South’s boys basketball team beat Naperville North on Friday, Mustangs senior guard Jerron Wilbut attempted to describe the indescribable.

Wilbut’s amazing third-quarter dunk helped spark Downers South’s 53-46 victory over the Huskies in the third-place game of York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Classic in Elmhurst, but explaining the breakaway slam proved difficult.

“I don’t know, I just bounced it and went up and got it,” Wilbut said with a laugh. “I just made some stuff up. I just threw an alley-oop to myself, I guess that’s what it was.”

The one-handed, windmill, alley-oop dunk — or whatever it was — epitomized Downers South’s ability to shake off the immense disappointment of Thursday’s last-second semifinal loss to St. Ignatius. Looking like a team having fun, the Mustangs (10-2) finally took control against Naperville North (8-4) midway through the fourth quarter behind an 11-2 run.

For the second day in a row, Naperville North just couldn’t knock down enough shots. Whether it was in the post or on the perimeter, the Huskies struggled at key times.

“I’m extremely proud of our boys, we really competed hard,” said Naperville North coach Jeff Powers. “Maybe four days in a row for a team that’s a shooting team and not real big, maybe took a little bit out of our legs. I don’t want to make excuses, but we didn’t shoot the ball very well again today. We might need a little rest.”

After attempting only one free throw through three quarters, Downers South sealed the win with 17-of-19 fourth-quarter shooting from the line. Wilbut, who scored a game-high 19 points, hit 6 of 7 attempts while backcourt mate Jamall Millison, who added 14 points, made all seven of his fourth-quarter free throws.

As Downers South attempted to pull away in the final period, Naperville North’s Chris Mullen nailed a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Huskies close. His second 3-pointer made it 45-43 with 1:39 left, but an 8-1 Mustangs run extended the lead again.

Nine of the 10 players who entered the game scored for the Huskies, with Mike Keane leading the team with 9 points. Kyle Lindberg scored 8 points and Anthony Rehayem and Mullen scored 7 points apiece off the bench.

“The free throws were good and we put ourselves in that position to finish the game off,” said Mustangs coach Jay Baum. “It was a very emotional day after yesterday basically leading for 31 minutes or so and having it taken from us. It was painful, and thankfully we were able to play today.”