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Perkins, Waubonsie nip Streamwood

Streamwood's Senior Night will definitely be a memorable occasion.

But instead of the Sabres recollecting about Friday's night's game against Waubonsie Valley, Warriors' senior Tyler Perkins will reminisce about how he calmly stepped to the line with his team trailing 44-43.

Perkins cemented his memory when he sank both free throws with 4 seconds left to give the Warriors 45-44 Upstate Eight Conference boys basketball victory Friday night.

"He went 4 for 4 in the fourth quarter," Warriors' coach Steve Weemer said. "You want your best player to make plays. He's made some big plays for us."

Perkins' free throws came after he was fouled by Streamwood sophomore Lorenzo Mitchell under the basket with 4 seconds remaining. Even though Mitchell recorded the foul, two other Sabres' defenders were swarming Perkins trying to prevent the easy basket.

Mitchell's foul came after he gave Streamwood (7-15, 3-6) a 44-43 lead with a layup with 8 seconds left to play. Streamwood did have a final opportunity after Perkins' free throws, but Marcus Greene (10 points, 3 assists) was not able to make a turnaround jumper from the right corner as time expired.

"We just wanted to win," said Perkins, who led the Warriors with 13 points and 9 rebounds. "We learned over the process of the season, now we just expect it."

After trailing 41-34 midway through the fourth quarter Streamwood got a major jolt as point guard Jerrold Ofiana sank a 3-pointer and drew a foul with 3:43 left to play. The junior converted the 4-point play leaving Waubonsie (7-16, 4-5) up just 41-38.

Marcus Lewis, who led all players with 17 points, got a huge block on the opposite end of the floor, pumping up the already energized crowd even more. He would score on the Sabres' ensuing possession bringing Streamwood within 41-40 with 2:04 left to play. He was one of the players under the basket when Perkins was fouled.

"We didn't close it out," said Lewis, who added 2 blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals. "We didn't match up right away. Then he went to the line and hit two coldblooded shots. We didn't close it out."

Greene made a pair of free throws to give Streamwood a 42-41 lead with 1:13 left to play, but Perkins sank a pair of free throws seconds later putting Waubonsie back up 43-42.

Greene then missed a shot, with Mark Szott nabbing the rebound, but Greene stole the ball dished it to Mitchell for the basket.

Streamwood was able to take a 24-22 lead at halftime with an 18-14 rebounding advantage, including grabbing 11 offensive boards. Waubonsie won the battle on the boards 13-10 in the second half, but Streamwood did finish with 17 offensive rebounds.

"We did a better job of offensive rebounding then we did defensive rebounding," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said.