Going into the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game trailing No. 9 Gordon Tech by four points, Stagg coach Al Biancalana was just hoping to shorten the game.
Biancalana got what he wished for and the Chargers took advantage and stunned the Rams 50-49 in the quarterfinals of the York tournament.
“We were down four with 6 minutes to play and we wanted to make it a 4-minute game,” Biancalana said. “We just wanted a chance to win it at the end. A lot of crazy things can happen in a two-possession game.”
Like Gordon deciding to have Jitim Young stand at half-court and hold on to the ball for the first 4 minutes of the fourth. The Chargers were content to let the Rams sit on the lead. When Gordon decided to play, it missed five of its six shots in the quarter.
Stagg grabbed its first lead of the game with 2 minutes 20 seconds remaining at 48-47 on a basket by Shawn Mackey (4 points). After a Stagg free throw, Gordon tied the game at 49-49 on a basket by Devante Blanks (14 points). Mackey then hit one of two free throws with 7 seconds left for a 50-49 lead that was secured when Gordon missed a shot at the buzzer.
Stagg will face No. 18 Thornwood in one semifinal Friday. LaMorris Crawford’s jumper with 2 seconds left gave No. 18 Thornwood the lead and the Thunderbirds (8-1) hung on for a 51-47 victory over Glenbrook North in quarterfinal play. Crawford and Raji Terrell each had 11 points to lead Thornwood. In other quarterfinal action, Palatine (8-2) dispatched Wheaton-Warrenville South 54-34 on the strength of Dan Gavin’s 16 points and seven rebounds. The Pirates face York (4-6), which defeated Downers South behind 16 points from Dave Schmidt.
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DeKalb: St. Charles led 20-3 after the first quarter and never looked back in its 67-30 rout over Prairie Ridge (2-8). Jeff Pallija’s 12 points paced St. Charles (9-3). . . . Travis Hudson (21 points) hit nine free throws down the stretch as Belvidere (6-3) held off Rolling Meadows 69-60. . . . Eric Hayward and Todd Wargo scored 14 points apiece as Streator downed Woodstock 58-45. Mike Lind’s 15 points led Woodstock. . . . Host DeKalb held Immaculate Conception to two points in the second and third quarter as it cruised to a 58-19 victory. Vince Robinson led DeKalb with 16 points.
Driscoll: Maurice Bush scored 17 points and Quentin Gilispie added 15 as Crane (3-4) rolled past Prosser 77-55. . . . Bobby Galliban scored a game-high 23 points, including seven three-pointers, as Benet dispatched Fenton 65-60. . . . Tim O’Neill scored 15 points as Brother Rice (8-3) outscored Driscoll 22-8 in the third quarter en route to a 63-42 victory.
East Aurora: Chad Plotke scored 32 points on 11 of 15 shooting, including 4 for 4 from three-point territory, and Henry Domercant added 31 as Naperville North (7-1) held off Von Steuben 76-64. . . . Wheaton Academy scored 10 of the last 11 points to rally past Bolingbrook 61-59. Steve Roth scored 21 points to lead Wheaton (6-3). . . . Jason Wright (19 points), Jason Collins (18) and Ryan Wilt (17) sparked Aurora Christian (5-4) past St. Francis 76-64. . . . East Aurora (6-4) used 25 points from Tarius Dawkins and 13 points and eight rebounds from Jeremy Shackleford to beat Glenbard East 75-63.
Elgin: Brent Gooden scored 21 points and Sean Harrington added 18 as No. 4 Elgin (11-0) rolled past Batavia 57-42. . . . Edward Hebert (25 points), Andre Duncan (23) and Roy Peterson combined to hit 12-of-17 three-point shots as No. 13 Fremd (8-1) bombed Highland Park (7-4) 65-38.
Jacobs: Barrington edged Lake Forest 34-31 on the strength of Chad Thalheimer’s nine points and Thomas Spicer’s eight. . . . Eric Levernier (14 points) hit a 15-footer as time expired to give Mundelein a 54-52 victory over Crystal Lake South. . . . Jacobs cruised past Grant 82-49 behind 20 points from Cameron Reynolds. . . . Barrington scored its last six points from the foul line and held off Lake Forest 34-31. . . . Chris Sigl scored 14 points and Brian Cosentino added 10 as Hoffman Estates held off Cary-Grove 51-44. . . . Tim Mosolino scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Crystal Lake Central (8-3) to a 57-41 victory over Round Lake.
Luther South: Kennedy downed University High 56-47. Patrick Walker had 17 points and Jerome Stephens added 16 for the Crusaders (6-4). . . . Montele Hogan led Washington (8-3) with 25 points in a victory over Tabernacle Christian 62-48. Kenard Jackson had 22 points for Tabernacle Christian (6-5). . . . Dan Naklicki had 17 points and Jon Enright had 16 for Morgan Park Academy (3-8) in its 69-46 victory over Richards Vocational. . . . Brandon Cade scored 20 points to lead Luther South (7-2) past Agricultural Science 73-55.
Marengo: Paul Marshall scored a game-high 27 points–21 in the first half–as Winnebago (9-1) rolled past Wauconda 94-67. . . . Randy Ramsey scored 31 points for Riverside-Brookfield and set a school record for shooting with eight three-pointers as the Bulldogs (9-0) rolled past Harvard 66-47.
Waubonsie Valley: Chris Silagi had 36 points, including nine three-pointers, to lead Oswego to victory over Aurora Central 82-68. . . . Glenbard West (8-1) beat Geneva 55-33 as Desmond Heard scored 17 points. . . . Scott Sarrett and Kevin O’Rourke had 12 points each as Glenbard South (6-4) defeated West Chicago 55-49. . . . Waubonsie Valley (8-2) held off Marmion 43-33 behind R.J. Luke, who made his first seven shots on his way to 18 points.