Immaculate Conception 45, Academy of Scholastic Achievement 40
Immaculate Conception controlled tempo and executed a sound game plan Thursday in a 45-40 win over the Academy of Scholastic Achievement, reaching IC's own Class 1A boys basketball regional final in Elmhurst.
The Knights gained a third straight regional final despite leading scorer 6-foot-5 center Matt Purdom sitting out 10 minutes, 2 seconds after drawing his third and fourth fouls early in the third quarter.
No. 2 seed IC (9-16), which plays No. 4 Morgan Park Academy (14-16) at 7:30 p.m. today, saw a 35-21 third-quarter lead whittled to 43-36 at 1:06 of the fourth yet broke an eight-game losing streak.
"(Purdom is) a huge key to us offensively and defensively, and you see the difference when he's not on the floor," said Knights coach Darren Howard.
"A little bit of a panic mode offensively without him out there, and if we're going to get past good teams in these playoffs we're going to need him on the floor for 32 minutes."
Lacking that by the big junior, who had 14 points and 7 rebounds, IC still held ASA far below its 78-point total on Monday.
No. 8 seed ASA (10-4) got 25 points from smooth senior Willie Brumley but no other player made more than 1 basket as the Trojans shot 16 of 52 against IC's 1-3-1 and 1-2-2 zone defenses.
"That killed us," ASA coach Jesse Jones said. "If someone had said that we would have scored 40 points the way we run the ball, I would have thought they were crazy."
IC, which trailed once at 7-6, attacked ASA's 1-2-2 zone by getting the ball to Kevin Koch or Chris Mulligan at the foul line. They turned to find Purdom inside or senior guard Brendan Ryan on the perimeter.
The plan earned IC a 10-2 run for a 12-7 lead after a quarter. Ryan hit 2 straight 3-pointers from the left corner to end the period.
"Whenever you've got (Purdom) in the middle it's definitely easier for me because you've just got to be patient, get it down low. Then my looks come more naturally," said Ryan, who scored 9 points all on 3s.
The Knights led 27-17 at halftime and held the line after Purdom was called for 2 fouls within 24 seconds early in the third quarter.
Koch, who scored 8 points, and reserves Dan Muisenga and Erik Hansen chimed in at the right times to keep a 10-point lead until Purdom returned with 4:38 left.
IC's ability to take the air out of the ball made a 9-4 ASA run too little, too late.
"We need to control the tempo throughout the playoffs to be successful," Purdom said. "I think if we do that we can go all the way."