Cordell Liggins’ first missed free throw prevented Thornwood from winning in regulation Tuesday night. His second and third missed free throws left Thornwood’s lead at only two points with less than a minute remaining in overtime.
But Liggins’ running jumper with 7.4 seconds left put the Thunderbirds (17-11) back on top for good in a 54-50 upset of Julian in the Class AA sectional semifinal at Eisenhower.
“After I missed those free throws, I was just trying to do everything I could to make up for it,” said Liggins, who had 12 points and five rebounds.
Julian (22-8) trailed 41-32 with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter but used a 12-1 surge, including six points from Brandon Ewing, to lead 44-42 with 2:06 left. The Jaguars stalled after a Thunderbirds turnover until DeShaun Williams was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one with 27 seconds left.
After Thornwood’s Andre Muse missed his first free throw, Liggins’ putback tied the game 44-44. Liggins was fouled on the basket but failed to convert the three-point play.
In overtime, Martell Nelson’s free throw put Thornwood ahead 50-46 with 1:17 left. But Julian tied the game 50-50 with a pair of free throws by Lorenzo Acford and a basket by James Watson with 19.2 seconds left.
Without calling a timeout, Liggins ran the length of the floor and scored to reclaim the lead.
“We didn’t call time because there was hardly any time left on the clock and not really enough time to get a play going,” Liggins said. “So I knew as soon as I got it I was taking it to the basket.”
Ewing paced Julian with 14 points and four steals. Williams added 13 points.
At Gordon Tech: Ollie Bailey had 18 points and 15 rebounds, sparking Farragut to a 68-54 win over Young. Johnny Logan also scored 18 points for the Admirals (27-3), who bolted to a 7-0 lead and never trailed. Farragut’s Chris Singletary chipped in 10.
Marcellus Ross scored 15 points for Young (18-9), and Toussaint Knox came off the bench to score 12.
At St. Xavier: A pair of Artero Gardner dunks ignited a 14-2 third-quarter run, leading Hyde Park to an 80-60 victory over Hubbard. Stefhon Hannah scored a game-high 24 for Hyde Park (24-4). Gardner finished with 12, and Wayne Robinson and Hassan Ali each added 10.
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D’Juan Stewart’s 15 points led Hubbard (14-14).
At Niles West: Rudolph Meo scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a 6-for-6 performance at the free-throw line, helping Evanston hold off a fierce Niles West comeback in a 70-67 win.
Gordon Watt had 23 points for the Wildkits (23-4) and started a 14-2 third-quarter run with a full-court drive punctuated by a loud dunk. Niles West (17-10) scored 35 points in the fourth period behind Sead Odzic, who made five three-pointers in the quarter while scoring 16 of his 25 points.
Aaron Hamilton scored 14 for Evanston. Jarryd Lloyd added 15 points for Niles West.
At Hinsdale South: Bryan Mullins scored eight points during a 22-3 game-closing run as Downers Grove South routed Glenbard South 59-37. Trey Bowens led the Mustangs (25-4) with 16 points and six rebounds, and Mullins finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five steals. Matt Reimer led Glenbard South (15-13) with 11 points.
At Elgin: Todd Babington poured in 28 points to lead Prairie Ridge past Larkin 69-61. Brett Cole added 20 points for the Wolves (28-2), who led 53-32 midway through the third before Larkin (16-14) took off on a 20-3 run. The Royals got as close as 55-52 with 6:58 left in the game on Nick Edwards’ putback, but Prairie Ridge recovered.
Dayvon Ellis had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Larkin. Edwards and Paul Kowalyszyn each scored 13 second-half points for the Royals.
At Moline: Wesley McCorkle hit 10 of 12 free throws en route to 18 points as Moline (26-2) held off Sycamore 61-52.
Andrew Gones had 17 points for Sycamore (23-5), and Tony Bomar added 13.
At Waukegan: The host Bulldogs overcame 12 of 22 free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter to outlast Lake Forest 60-56.
Waukegan (17-11) held its largest lead at 43-27 with 5:18 to play. But Lake Forest pulled to 58-53 with 13 seconds left after forcing the Bulldogs to score nine of their last 11 points from the line.
Waukegan’s Emanuel Gaiter scored 10 points in the fourth period and finished with 20 and nine rebounds. Fred Finley and Dane Cruz each scored 11.
Ryan Paxson had 16 points and Colin Finley added 14 for the Scouts (22-8).
Class A supersectional
At NIU: Devin Bawinkel’s free throw with 3.1 seconds left lifted Winnebago to a 57-56 win over Rock Falls and the team’s first state tournament appearance.
Winnebago (29-1), which hadn’t even won a sectional since 1984, will face St. Anne in the state quarterfinals at 1:45 p.m. Friday in Peoria.
“I missed two before that, and I should have made those,” said Bawinkel, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. “I didn’t want to lose it for these seniors.”
Isaiah Johnson finished with 22 points for Rock Falls (28-3), ranked No. 2 in the last Associated Press poll of the regular season.