– York sectional-Oak Park withstood Willowbrook`s slowdown tactics and pulled away for a 66-45 victory. Willowbrook lead 19-15 after eight minutes on the strength of Lance Bettini, who had 12 of his 17 points in the opening period. Oak Park tied the score at 25 on a dunk by Ramone Jones (12 points). Two free throws by Rael Willis (four points) gave the Huskies (23-3) the lead for good at 27-26. Oak Park then opened the second half with a 16-2 run to put the game away. Joe Mellman led Oak Park with 16 points. ”They made us get off to a slow start,” said Oak park coach Al Allen. ”I was not willing to go out and challenge them.” . . . No. 3 St. Joseph (25-1) jumped out to a 27-2 lead after the first quarter and coasted to a 67-23 victory over Riverside-Brookfield. Gerald Eaker led all scorers with 20 points, 12 coming in the first half. ”We have to fight real hard to make sure we stay focused,” said St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore. . . . Lyons (13-11) claimed the lead for good in the final :30 and held off Fenwick 51-48. Mike Jackson (10 points) hit two free throws with :05 left to clinch the win. . . . Bob Krahulic had 24 points as Nazareth (18-8) blitzed St. Patrick 82-50.
– Fremd sectional-Mark Valintis scored 17 points for Addison Trail (16-10) in its 69-57 win over Buffalo Grove. . . . Conant hit nine three-pointers in its 93-66 win over Wheeling. Brett Sharkey led Conant with 20 points. ”Our execution at both ends of the floor was better than I`ve seen in a while,”
said Conant coach Tom McCormack. ”We were able to control the defensive boards and get our running game going.” . . . J.T. McFarland had 24 points as 11 players scored for St. Charles in its 80-56 win over Barrington. Marc Wilson led the Broncos with 17. . . . Marc Boone scored 24 points and Tony Harvey added 16 as Fremd defeated Hoffman Estates 59-49. Todd Stennet led the Hawks with 15.
– East Aurora sectional-Marmion Military went back to old tactics against East Aurora, but without the same results. The Cadets were able to upset the Tomcats with a slowdown when the two met in the regular season. This time East Aurora expected it and was able to withstand the stall and run away with a 75-41 win. Warren Brookson led 10 East Aurora scorers with 18 points. ”We didn`t want them to get close so they could slow it down again,” said East Aurora coach Scott Martens. . . . Downers South forced 26 turnovers to speed past Illinois Math and Science 66-42. Jon Stapleton led Downers with 14 points. John Turlais led IMSA with 23 points, including 16 of the Titans` 20 first-half points. . . . Balanced scoring pushed Benet past Wheaton North 60-57. Terry Gallagher had 15 points to lead Benet. Wheaton North`s Bryan Crabtree led all scorers with 21. . . . James Jackson had 17 points as Naperville Central got past Wheaton Central 65-50. Ben Klass` 13 points led Wheaton.
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