WW South hangs on against Plainfield North
It wasn't pretty, but Wheaton Warrenville South lived to play another game.
The Tigers overcame 4 turnovers in the final two minutes and used a ball control offense in the fourth quarter to hang on for a 50-46 win over Plainfield North in the first round of the Neuqua Valley regional Monday evening.
Wheaton Warrenville South moves on to play 1-loss Plainfield East in Tuesday's regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m.
"We play a certain style, and at the end of the day, the guys executed and came through," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Robert Szorc said.
"We've got 24 hours of prep time to get ready for Plainfield East, which is an unbelievable team."
Against Plainfield North, neither team led by more than 4 points during the first three quarters as the lead changed 17 times during that span.
Michael Kramer's 3-point buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter gave Wheaton Warrenville South (11-16) a 13-12 lead, but it was the hot shooting of Plainfield North's Kendal Interial (18 points) that kept his team in the lead for much of the second quarter.
Interial twice knocked down NBA-range 3-pointers to put his team up by 4 both times, which was Plainfield North's biggest leads of the night. Interial finished 5-of-6 from the 3-point line in the first half, connecting on his first 5 attempts. He finished with only one more from beyond the arc the rest of the way.
"We located their shooters better in the second half," Wheaton Warrenville South senior Danny Roadman said. "We started trapping the corners and focused on who was scoring."
A tip-in by Tim Zyburt (18 points) off a Roadman miss as the third quarter clock expired put the Tigers up 41-37 heading into the final eight minutes.
Zyburt began the fourth quarter scoring a pair of inside baskets and getting fouled both times. He missed both free throws, but the Tigers still held their biggest lead of the night at 45-37.
Their ball control offense kept Plainfield North off the scoreboard for over four minutes before Interial's final 3-pointer cut the Wheaton Warrenville South lead down to 45-40 with 3:42 left.
A fastbreak jumper by Plainfield North's Jeremy Bert trimmed the lead down to 45-42 with 3:15 remaining, while a layup by Kurt Palendech cut the Tigers lead down to just two at 46-44 with 45 seconds left.
Plainfield North got no closer.
Roadman found himself at the free throw line on four separate occasions in the final two minutes when Plainfield North was forced to foul. He connected on 5-of-7 from the foul line during that stretch and was the only Tiger player to go to the line all night. He also finished with 14 of his game-high 21 points in the second half.
"We got a win, we move on and everyone is happy in the locker room," Roadman said. "We've got a big matchup tomorrow. It's going to be an awesome opportunity for us."