Hinsdale South wins in OT

For all the drawn-up scenarios for the final 4.5 seconds of overtime, only one mattered to Devin Smith.

Shoot the ball.

He did, and he knocked it down.

Smith's 3-pointer at the buzzer drained through the net to give Hinsdale South a 59-56 West Suburban Gold boys basketball victory over Willowbrook on Tuesday in Villa Park.

"I was thinking about taking it to the hole, but I saw big (Milton Colbert) down there, so I figured I'd pull it up, pump fake and let it go," said Smith, who scored 14 points off the bench. "I caught the ball and looked up the court, and I saw a little gap and I thought 'I'm taking it.' "

The Warriors (15-7, 6-4) trailed by 4 points in overtime after Dan Miller nailed 3-pointers on two straight Hinsdale South (12-8, 5-4) possessions. The Hornets made only 1 of their next 4 free throws, however, to give Willowbrook an opening.

Joe Flood, who had 12 points, scored twice for Willowbrook, including a shot under the basket with six seconds left. With the score tied 56-56, Hinsdale South called timeout with 4.5 seconds left to set up the final play.

"It was a great game with playoff intensity," said Hornets coach Vince Doran. "We've had some last-second opportunities that haven't gone down for us, so it was real nice to get this one."

Willowbrook led the bulk of the second half, opening a 38-31 lead at the start of the fourth quarter on a putback by 6-foot-5 Colbert, who had 14 points and 5 rebounds. Hinsdale South tied it at 47-47 with 1:01 left on Smith's three free throws.

Smith's game-winning attempt at the end of regulation was blocked by Willowbrook's Jamell Hunter, who had 13 points and 12 boards, to send the game to overtime.

"They made plays, and it wasn't us not making plays -- I thought we made pretty good plays, too," said Warriors coach Tim Lavorato. "I'm not going to say I'm not disappointed, but I thought this was better than we've played in late-game situations all year."

Hinsdale South survived first-half foul trouble to three starters, including to leading scorer Eric Travis, who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Hunter's 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter gave Willowbrook a 21-19 lead.

"This was just a barn-burner," said Miller, who had 11 points. "It was a hard-nosed game that went back and forth the whole game."