Home-court advantage? It hasn’t meant a thing in the Thornridge sectional complex.
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Last week Thornwood and Bloom were eliminated on their home courts. Tuesday night Thornridge joined the list.
D’Juan Surratt’s rebound and basket with 10 seconds remaining gave No 20 Rich Central (21-7) a 63-62 over No. 14 Thornridge in the sectional semifinal Tuesday night in Dolton.
The basket capped off a seesaw second half in which Rich Central rallied from a 46-37 deficit after three quarters to grab a 61-57 lead with 2 minutes remaining, only to watch Thornridge respond with five straight points for a 62-61 lead.
“I wanted it bad,” Surratt said of his game-winner. “I knew I had to crash the boards when we missed the shot. Then when I saw it go in, I made sure I got back on defense.”
Thornridge (22-7) had a chance for its own game-winning shot. After a timeout, Corey Johnson drove the length of the floor, missed a layup and had the rebound knocked out of bounds. Chancellor Collins’ tip-in attempt at the buzzer rimmed out, sealing the Olympians victory.
“We hung in there,” Rich Central coach Lee Boyko said. “I thought we looked sluggish up until the fourth quarter. We told them after the third quarter that this was it and it was time to pick it up.”
East Aurora: No. 13 Naperville North (24-3) eliminated Naperville Central 71-63 as Henry Domercant scored 23 and Phil Torres 19. North sank 25 of 32 free-throw attempts; Central (20-9) made seven of 10. Ben Berning scored 23 in defeat.
East Moline: Galesburg rolled past DeKalb 72-50, completing a 35-point swing. DeKalb led 17-4 in the first quarter when Barbs coach Chuck Schramm was given a technical for stepping out of the coach’s box. Galesburg (26-2) proceeded to outscore DeKalb 29-9 to close the half.
“Being down that much really was a wakeup call for us,” Galesburg coach Mike Miller said. “I think that technical call on coach Schramm gave us a chance to catch our breath and come back and take over this game.”
Hersey: Sean Harrington scored a season-high 32 points to lead No. 4 Elgin (28-1) to a 68-58 victory over Hoffman Estates. Brent Gooden added 12 points to go over the 1,000 mark in his career.
Joliet: No. 5 Hillcrest opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run and held off stubborn Providence 55-48. Ryan Blankson led the Hawks (28-1) with 20 points, including an important three-pointer with 3:27 remaining in the fourth to give Hillcrest a 46-39 advantage. Reo Logan added 14 points for the Hawks. Greg Smith scored 21 points to lead Providence (17-11), which led 36-35 after three quarters.
“I was a little worried when (Blankson) took that three-pointer,” Hillcrest coach Tom Cappel said. “But he has hit three’s before and he can shoot from out there and it when in. So I guess I’m happy.”
Maine West: The host Warriors (25-3) used 31 points by Kevin Frey and 25 by Lucas Johnson to defeat Evanston 74-65. Frey and Johnson each had 10 rebounds for 10th-ranked Maine West. Davis Robinson led Evanston (20-7) with 17 points.
Oswego: Richards went on an 18-2 second-quarter run and rolled to a 76-50 victory over St. Laurence. It was the first sectional victory in the school’s history and the 22nd straight for Richards. David Bridgewater led the Bulldogs (27-1) with 23 points while Demetris McDaniel added 15.
“Bridgewater was a monster out there tonight,” said Richards coach Jack Fitzgerald. “He has a great nose for the ball. He’s the best offensive rebounder that I’ve ever coached and that’s something you can’t coach.”
Eddie Barrera led St. Laurence (11-18) with 16.
Rockford Boylan: Damir Krupaljia scored 27 points and Joe Tulley added 23 as Rockford Boylan rolled to a 101-51 victory over Jacobs. Krupaljia scored 16 of Rockford’s 20 first-quarter points as the Titans (29-1) led 20-8 after the first quarter.
Waukegan: Rod Henry scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures as No. 7 Zion-Benton (29-1) battered Mundelein 83-60. Zion led 42-37 early in the third quarter before going on a 13-2 run to break the game open. Quiande Moore had five of his 14 points during the run. Zion held Mundelein to just one field goal in the fourth quarter.