Joliet coach Robert Kokosky has praised his squad’s defensive performance throughout its playoff run. And it was the defense that stood tall again for top-ranked Joliet as the Steelmen held Lockport to a pair of baskets in the pivotal fourth quarter for a 52-39 semifinal victory in the Oak Lawn sectional Tuesday night.
Joliet (28-1) will meet Shepard or Brother Rice for the sectional championship Friday.
“We played a nice defensive game and we just continue to play good, sound basketball,” Kokosky said.
Joliet needed to slow down Lockport’s Alando Tucker, who scored a game-high 22 points, after he and Chester Green (14 points) scored six points apiece in the third quarter to trim the Steelmen’s double-digit lead to 39-33.
After Tucker’s second highlight-reel dunk of the night put Lockport within 42-35 with 5:35 to play, the Steelmen shut the door. Joliet sealed the interior on Tucker the rest of the way behind 6-foot-5-inch center Jabari Saunders and 6-7 Kellen Easley (18 points), and then used an 8-0 spurt on offense to take over the game for good.
Brandon Shoemaker nailed a three-pointer, Easley converted a three-point play and Branden Dillard (10 points) capped the run with a layup to give Joliet a 50-35 lead with 2:25 to go.
Henry Del Valle.
West Aurora 72, Downers Grove North 52
Josh Huberty scored the last eight points of West Aurora’s 12-2 second-quarter run to help the Blackhawks take command of their sectional semifinal at East Aurora.
West Aurora coach Gordon Kerkman called on Huberty, who averages only about four points a game, in the middle of the second quarter when Downers North led 19-18.
Dameon Mason started the West Aurora run with an offensive rebound basket. Huberty then took over with a three-pointer, a 16-foot jumper and another three-pointer to give the Blackhawks a 30-21 lead. Huberty scored a season-high 11 points.
“Coach always tells me to go in looking for my shot, and today before the game I was feeling it,” Huberty said. “When I hit that first one I knew I was on, so I just kept shooting.”
Mason and Jaeh Thomas led No. 2 West Aurora (26-2) with 20 points each.
Senior guard Matt Formato hit four three-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead Downers North (16-13).
Bob Skolnik.
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Proviso E. 95, Proviso W. 51
Dee Brown scored 35 points and dished out seven assists in three quarters of play and Shannon Brown added 15 as the No. 3 Pirates (25-2) won their 17th straight game, destroying rival Proviso West in a sectional semifinal at Argo. Proviso East advances to Friday’s championship and a shot at its first sectional title since 1993.
The Browns were on from the opening tip as the Pirates opened an 18-4 lead less than five minutes in. West (21-8) closed the first quarter on an 11-5 run to trail 23-16, but that was as close as the game would be.
Dee Brown, who connected on 6-of-8 three pointers in the first half, helped slam the door to start the second, scoring 11 points in a 17-3 run to open the quarter and give East a 40-19 lead with 4:47 left in the half.
Proviso East, which led 47-25 at halftime, used a 13-2 run late in the third, including 11 from Dee Brown before he sat for the rest of the game. The Pirates led 71-33 with 1:02 remaining in the third.
Phil English.
Thornwood 76, Homewood-Flossmoor 47
Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst knows that when his team is on from behind the three-point arc, a double-digit win is almost assured for the No. 8 Thunderbirds.
In the Bloom sectional semifinal, Thornwood put on a three-point exhibition to cruise past SICA East rival and No. 19 Homewood-Flossmoor (19-10).
Melvin Buckley, David Moss and Geremie Allison combined for seven of the eight first-half three-pointers by the Thunderbirds (25-4), giving them a comfortable 42-20 halftime lead. Thornwood finished with 11 three-pointers on the night.
Moss had a game-high 21 points, including four three-pointers. Buckley added 17 while Allison, in foul trouble the second half, had all 11 of his points in the first half.
Bill Harrison.
In other Class AA sectionals:
York: Nick Nikitas had 13 points and a tie-breaking jump shot with 1:40 left in the game as the No. 12 Trevians (22-6) rallied for a 72-65 win over Gordon Tech.
The Rams (23-5) had a three-point lead entering the fourth quarter behind Michael Lang’s 22 points, but New Trier roared back with a 26-16 scoring edge in the final quarter.
“Our passing was better in the second half and our cuts were crisper,” New Trier coach Rick Malnati said. “We were able to score inside down the stretch and only committed one turnover in the fourth quarter.”
Ted Rosinski had 15 points to go with James Romey’s 12 for New Trier. Titus Redmond added 16 points for Gordon Tech.
Larkin: Kyle McClure had 13 of his game-high 24 points in the first quarter as Wheaton North (22-6) jumped to a 20-7 lead and cruised to a 71-60 win over Batavia. Travis Meeks had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead Batavia (21-7), which had closed within seven midway through the fourth quarter, only to see the Falcons close the quarter on an 8-2 run and stay up by double digits the rest of the way.
Machesney Park Harlem: Two free throws by Eric Gillam with 14 seconds left and another by Steve Harris with four seconds to go lifted Rockford Boylan (28-2) over Crystal Lake South 54-52. Phil Wallace led all scorers with 22 points for the Gators (19-11).
Prospect: Lake Zurich used a 10-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take an eight-point lead, then held off Hoffman Estates for a 69-66 win.
Jeff Mikos had 24 points to lead the Bears (23-5), and freshman Mike Kolze added 12 points, including eight in the fourth quarter and two free throws that helped ice the win.
Nate Erickson had 28 points and seven rebounds to pace Hoffman Estates (16-13), which led 29-15 after the first quarter thanks to hitting 6-of-8 three-point attempts. Bryan Mead added 20 points and hit six three-pointers.
Streator: Top-seeded Moline (24-4) downed Sycamore 55-37 behind Travis Nunn’s 17 points. Sycamore led 36-33 with 6:56 remaining in the game, but Justin Wilson’s free throw with 4:05 left was the only point the Spartans (24-4) could muster in their next 12 possessions as Moline ran away with the victory. Wilson finished with 11 points.
Waukegan: Jason Vismantas scored five points in Highland Park’s game-opening 10-1 run as the Giants (23-5) never trailed in their 67-45 victory over Deerfield. Vismantas finished with eight points and Joey Paul poured in 30 points, including 16 in the third quarter on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Mark Morrison led Deerfield (19-9) with 20 points.