HINSDALE When Hinsdale Central suffered its first West Suburban Silver loss Friday to Oak Park-River Forest 51-47, it was not because of a lack of effort by Grant Hutcherson.
The senior guard sparked the Red Devils early, scoring nine of his 12 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer.
Hinsdale Central (17-4, 6-2hinsdale) was short-handed, with leading scorers Matt Rafferty [injury] and George Kiernan [family commitment] not dressing against the Huskies.
“Going into the game with George being gone also, I just decided that we were going to need some other guys to step up,” Hutcherson said. “We were going to need a lot of energy going into the game to get the win.
“I was not trying to get too much out of my game, but I was just trying to attack a little harder and just trying to get some more buckets to pick up our team.”
Red Devils coach Nick Latorre was not surprised that Hutcherson took on the responsibility to provide more scoring.
“He just is that guy that does everything for us, he is so unselfish,” Latorre said. “Earlier in the year, he was completely on board with being our sixth man. He filled that role admirably and unselfishly.
“He kind of does whatever we need. When we need the rebound, he rebounds; or when we need him to handle the ball, or screen or pass [he does]. He is extremely team-oriented and a very unselfish player. He has been that way ever he since he has been in our program.”
With Rafferty out for an undetermined amount of time, Hutcherson should see more time in the starting lineup.
“The transition from being a sixth man to starting is not really that different,” Hutcherson said. “I still play the same type of game that I have been playing the whole season.”
Hinsdale Central missed its first nine shots of the third quarter but still took a 31-30 lead into the fourth quarter. The Red Devils then missed its first five shots of the fourth quarter.
More Top Picks Best Indoor Bike Trainers For Winter
“We do not like to make any excuses for missing guys,” Hutcherson said. “We still believe in ourselves as a team, and what we can still do, with or without a couple of guys.”
While Oak Park-River Forest (10-9, 3-5) caught the Red Devils without two starters, Huskies coach Matt Maloney still was impressed with the lineup they faced.
“They had some guys step up and got some nice production from guys that have not gotten a lot of time,” Maloney said. “[Thomas] Ives did a great job as a starter, and Hutcherson was great. [Jordan] Bradshaw, I thought we did a tremendous job on him, because he was one of the best point guards I saw this summer.”
Hinsdale Central dropped its second WSC Silver game on Saturday, 61-49 to Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn.