DARIEN With the game hanging in the balance in both regulation and overtime against Hinsdale South Friday night, there was little doubt where Leyden wanted the ball during the closing minutes.
Senior guards Dom Aiello and Marcos Herrera buried back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime to lift the Eagles to a thrilling 65-64 West Suburban Gold victory in Darien.
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Leyden trailed three times in the extra session, but knotted the score at 62-62 when Aiello knocked in a three with 1:35 left.
The Hornets (12-12, 6-5) responded with a Tommy Gumbus basket to reclaim the lead, but Herrera answered with the final basket of the game, a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left.
Leyden (14-10, 3-6) survived when Hinsdale South missed a jumper in the lane with six seconds remaining.
“We are very pleased with them [Aiello and Herrera],” Eagles coach Bill Heisler said. “I am so happy that they hit those shots, because they have both had opportunities [and missed]. They just kept grinding and it paid off for them, because they hit those huge shots for us.”
The final two baskets looked almost identical, piercing the net without touching the rim.
That success comes as the result of plenty of practice.
“Marcos and I are shooting partners in practice,” Aiello said. “Coach usually makes us shoot 40 threes before we leave the gym. We have to make a good amount in a row, or we have to stay and keep shooting.”
Hinsdale South raced out to a 22-8 lead after junior Brian Kern (20 points) buried four 3-pointers in the opening quarter.
“We got off to a great start, and they came firing back,” Hornets coach Brett Moore said. “They hit shots; they hit a lot of jumpers.”
Herrera and Aiello responded, combining for 18 points in the second quarter, allowing Leyden to take a 32-30 halftime lead.
“Coach always tells me I am the one that has to start the engine, so if I did not do anything, we were going to sit there the whole night like that,” Aiello said.
Aiello led the Eagles with 17 points, while Herrera finished with 16, including two floating jump shots that allowed Leyden to tie the game at the end of the fourth quarter.
Adam Braxton and DeAndre Williams added 13 points each for Leyden.
Barret Benson led Hinsdale South with 27 points and 10 rebounds, despite sitting out stretches of the second half with foul trouble.
“We defend the 3-point line pretty well and they just hit shots at the end of the game,” Moore said. “Their guards hit two huge jumpers that were not easy, and we could not get in the basket enough.”