Crete-Monee downs Glenbard East

The inaugural When Sides Collide Shootout will be remembered for one heck of a collision.

Crete-Monee won the shootout's third and final game in double overtime, defeating host Glenbard East 65-56 Saturday night in Lombard.

"We ran out of gas," Rams senior Dante Bailey said. "We put up a fight for 32 minutes and then it was just they overpowered us."

"Our goal was to play harder than they did, and we told them, that's the first time all year we played Glenbard East basketball," Rams coach Scott Miller said. "... The last couple of weeks coming out of Christmas we've been gradually getting better. Our practices have been been getting better and we've been practicing harder, and I just feel for whatever reason we're finally starting to play cohesive and come together, sharing the ball and all those good things."

The Rams (8-8), who placed third in Class 4A last spring, led most of the game, extending that lead to 45-36 with 4:34 to play in the fourth quarter. That's when Crete-Monee point guard Michael Orris found his shooting stroke. After missing his first 9 shots, Orris hit three consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game with 2:29 left.

"Players have bad nights and all of a sudden come alive," Crete-Monee coach Tom Cappel said of the Illinois signee. "We knew it was going to happen. They asked me at halftime if it was going to happen, and I said, Michael knows what he's doing. He's a big-time player, and he hit some big-time shots."

"The kid can shoot," Bailey added.

The Warriors, playing their fifth overtime game of the season, took the lead for good midway through the second overtime on a LaQuon Treadwell basket, and they took advantage of some Rams turnovers to dominate the final two minutes.

"There were a couple of costly turnovers in the second overtime," Miller said.

Treadwell led the Warriors (13-4) with 16 points, Jordan Perry had 15, Marvie Keith 14 and Orris finished with 12.

Bailey led all scorers with 24 points to go with 8 rebounds.

"He hit some big shots for them, so really big shots," Cappel said of Bailey. "He'll be playing next year somewhere."

In the other games at the Shootout, York defeated Schaumburg 53-40, and Oswego stopped St. Charles East 63-50.