Westmont finishes vs. Lisle
Westmont's Qati Dalipi said the ease in his game stems from repetition and muscle memory.
At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds of muscle that's a lot of memory.
Dalipi should remember Tuesday night. The junior center's 25 points and 17 rebounds plus perfect crunchtime foul shooting led the visiting Sentinels past nonconference rival Lisle 46-43.
"My size comes in to help but I also like to shoot the ball. I'm just comfortable," said Dalipi, the "Q" in Qati making a "ch" sound.
"I'm comfortable at the free-throw line," he said. "I like shooting free throws, I like being in that position, I like all the energy - all that comes with it."
What came with it Tuesday was something Westmont (5-10) had rarely felt this season, winning a game it had led nearly the entire time.
"We were looking for a turning-point game, something that can give us a little momentum and a little bit of life going into the second half of the season," said Westmont coach Craig Etheridge, who figured it was at least five years since the Sentinels won at Lisle (7-8).
"It's nice that we were able to finish a game against Lisle," he said. "They're a good team, they've given us a lot of trouble in this gym and it was nice for our guys to finally win a close one."
For several reasons it felt like Westmont ruled the game - Dalipi's 10 offensive rebounds, teammates Ben Juska and Amarion Williams also banging in the paint, Alex Pietrzak's 11 points and 3 steals.
Plus, Lisle went 0 of 8 from 3-point range and 5 of 23 overall in the first half. The Lions missed starter Ray Bandzoumouna for the first 16 minutes due to missed practices to attend to family matters, coach Mark LaScala said.
When Bandzoumouna hit a 3 on his first shot early in the third quarter and 6-4 forward Anthony Raineri mounting a 14-point, 11-rebound game, the Lions started to surge.
"Coach told us to dig down and box out," said guard Demetrius King Jr., who scored 11 points. "I guess we just didn't want to lose."
Bandzoumouna battled inside for a basket to tie the score 40-40 with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter. Pietrzak hit two free throws 12 seconds later.
Dalipi was fouled grabbing a defensive rebound and swished two more free throws for a 44-40 Westmont lead with 48.9 seconds left.
King's drive pulled Lisle within 44-42 and Bandzoumouna made a free throw with 5.9 seconds left, but Dalipi's two free throws with 4.6 seconds to play held off the Lions, unable to get off a shot at the end.
"Just give Westmont a lot of credit," LaScala said. "Their physicality, points in the paint, second-chance points, I thought really gave us a hard time. (Dalipi) was a monster and did a really nice job of finishing and then following when he didn't finish."