Hinsdale South rolls past Downers Grove South
Yes, Friday night's Class 4A regional final between Hinsdale South and Downers Grove South took place on a neutral court at Glenbard East in Lombard. But there was nothing neutral about the opponents, just lots of familiarity between the two West Suburban Gold boys basketball teams.
Hinsdale South (22-9), seeded fourth in the East Aurora sectional, used a 28-point fourth quarter to pull away from the fifth-seeded Mustangs 74-55. It was the first regional title for the Hornets since 1999.
The team advances to a 7 p.m. Tuesday East Aurora sectional semifinal against top-seeded Benet.
The Hornets and Mustangs have faced each other eight times over the past two seasons with Hinsdale South winning seven.
"It's crazy. It's the last time we'll play them. It's been a fun run," said Hornets senior Barret Benson, who shared game-high scoring honors with teammate Brian Kern with 24 points. "They got the conference championship. We didn't want that to happen again."
The Hornets led the Mustangs (21-10) 46-41 at the end of three quarters with each team keeping up around a 50 percent shooting mark from the field.
Kern's basket to start the fourth quarter put the Hornets up by eight and then Diamond Anderson, who finished with 11 points, fed Benson underneath the basket to give Hinsdale South its first double-digit lead of the night at 51-41. Then over the next minute or so, the Hornets went 6 of 7 from the free-throw line and put a permanent grip on control of the game.
"I thought we played well. We had good looks at our shots and for one reason or another they weren't not going in and we couldn't stay with them in the fourth quarter," said Downers South coach Kris Olson.
Mustangs junior T.J. Clifford, one of three Downers South players scoring in double digits with 11 points, has played with the Northwestern-bound Benson on the Illinois Wolves club team.
"He's real big to get around and has a shot you have to respect. He's a heck of a guy," Clifford said.
Sam Ebersold led Downers South with 12 points. Tyree Spencer contributed 10.
The two teams were tied at 14 after the first quarter and the Hornets led 32-29 at halftime. Hinsdale South coach Brett Moore praised his team's defense in the victory.
"I think it's one of the best basketball games that we've played all season. Defensively, we didn't give their shooters even a look. I couldn't have been more prouder of how we played," he said. "Offensively, we moved the ball well. We knew what we wanted to do and Barret did everything a post player can do."