Boys basketball: Day powers Downers Grove South past Willowbrook

Twenty seconds.

That was how long it took Downers Grove South senior forward Sean Day to realize it was going to be a good night.

Day took a pass from senior center Linas Kasperiunas and swished a 3-pointer on the first possession against visiting Willowbrook on Tuesday.

“Honestly, after that first shot I just felt it right away, that I got to get going and it’s my night,” Day said. ““It’s my night to impact.

“Then my teammates found me. My teammates did a great job of looking for me, and it’s a credit to them at the end of the day. Day sank another 3-pointer on his team’s third possession, then passed to Kasperiunas for a slam dunk.

It was the beginning of a banner night for Day, who finished with a team-high 24 points to go with five rebounds and two assists as the Mustangs knocked off the Warriors 68-59 to remain unbeaten in West Suburban Conference Gold Division action.

“I’ve had a couple 20-pointers, but I think 24 is my career-high,” Day said. “It feels great against a conference rival.

“Coming into the game, they’re a top-3 team in our conference, so seeing our guys really produce at a good level and seeing me get going was great.”

Downers South coach Zach Miller was pleased to see it, too.

“He’s doing everything you want as a senior,” Miller said. “I’ve told him he’s taking kind of what the game needs, and he’s just filling up a stat sheet.

“Some nights he needs to score, some nights he does the passing, and some nights he does a little bit of everything. But he impacts winning at both ends of the floor at a tremendous level.”

The Mustangs (12-5, 4-0) needed every bit of that effort to overcome another great performance from Willowbrook star OJ Powell, who tallied a game-high 25 points.

The Warriors (8-11, 1-3) trailed throughout the entire first half, but pulled even at 30-30 on Powell’s inside basket 12 seconds into the third quarter. The teams then traded 6-0 runs, with the Warriors tying the game at 36 on Jaylen Griffin’s drive midway through the period.

That’s when Day and senior guard Adam Flowers took the game over. Day tipped in his own miss to give Downers South the lead for good and start a streak that saw him and Flowers score 12 straight points for the Mustangs.

Flowers tallied 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter, while Day added six points as the Mustangs entered the fourth quarter with a 53-42 cushion.

“It was a two-point game at half, so we knew to put them away early, we’ve got to come out in the third quarter strong,” Day said. “So Coach kind of called me up to come out swinging, and I got out there and made the right plays, which really helped.”

Day made 8 of 17 shots, including four 3-pointers, the last of which came with 6:00 left in the fourth quarter. Junior guard Antonio Evans followed with a traditional three-point play to give the Mustangs their largest lead, 64-45.

Powell answered with a personal 9-0 run to cut the lead to 64-56, and the Warriors had a chance to get closer, but Griffin missed a trey, Day got the rebound, was fouled and split a pair of free throws with 1:11 to go.

“I’m really happy with how (Day) played and kind of just steadied the ship there for a little bit,” Miller said. “We knew a game like this was coming.

“It was just a matter of staying with the process and hope that at some point that lid comes off and the floodgates open. I think he did that a little early on, which then allows him to get downhill and make some plays.”

Day, who has offers from Elmhurst, Carthage, North Central and Loras, wants to study history and become a high school teacher and basketball coach. But he said shooting isn’t his best strength.

“I feel like everyone says shooting, but in my opinion it’s my passing, the way to get other guys involved and make the right read,” Day said. “I just like getting my teammates involved as much as I can.”