Willowbrook tops Downers Grove South for 10th straight win

A season ago, Willowbrook often came out on the wrong end of close games.

Returning to the court after four victories at the Sterling MLK Shootout by a combined 21 points, the Warriors won their 10th game in a row with another nail-biter, this time a 56-53 decision over Downers Grove South in Villa Park.

Willowbrook improved to 17-1 overall and 5-1 in the West Suburban Gold.

"I can't say we are young even though we still have a lot of juniors," Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins said. "Most of them played heavy minutes last year and several started. We were in a ton of close games last year and unfortunately, we weren't able to pull them out. But that experience is helping us out this year."

The home team made just enough plays down the stretch, capped off by a pair of free throws by Freddie Clay with 8.5 seconds left. On the previous possession the Mustangs had a chance to take the lead but a close shot rolled off the rim. The visitors then had an opportunity to tie in the closing seconds but couldn't get a 3-point attempt off.

"It was a great game," Downers South coach Kris Olson said. "It came down to the last possession. They made plays down the stretch. And we got a good look and it just rolled out."

Clay finished with 14 points off the bench, tying for team-high honors with Ethan Schuemer, who scored three straight baskets in the fourth quarter. Schuemer also added 9 rebounds.

"This means a lot to us," Clay said. "We are trying to reach our goals and one of those is to win conference. We just want to keep working hard. Last year we lost a lot of close games, but this year we know what to do in situations like that."

Iman Reynolds, playing in his fifth game of the season, contributed 10 points for Willowbrook, which led 31-29 at halftime and 44-42 after the third quarter.

T.J. Clifford topped Downers Grove South (11-9, 4-2) with 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Tyree Spencer had 14 points and 3 steals and Dennis Alibegovic tallied 13. Darnell Wallace also contributed 9 points, including a three-point play that brought the Mustangs within 54-53 with 54 seconds left.

"They are a very good team," Perkins said. "We knew it would come down to the wire. They start all seniors so we weren't going to rattle them. We knew it would be back and forth. It helped us being at home."