DARIEN — Hinsdale South’s Brian Kern had a first quarter Friday that he will not soon forget against West Suburban Gold foe Leyden.
The junior guard buried his first four 3-point attempts as the Hornets opened a 22-8 first-quarter lead.
The Hornets (12-12, 6-5) could not hang on and dropped a heartbreaking 65-64 overtime decision in Darien.
Kern sensed early that he was going to have a good night from the field.
More Top Picks Best Indoor Grills
“From the warmup, I was feeling like I was on with my shots,” Kern said. “Then my teammates got me open most of the time during the game, so I just decided to take them and they were falling.”
Before three minutes had elapsed, Kern had drained three 3-pointers and sent the Eagles (14-10, 3-6) looking for their game plan.
“I was going crazy the first quarter, because we talked about Kern being the one guy that we had to run off the 3, and it was just bang, bang, bang,” Leyden coach Bill Heisler said. “I was impressed, but I was a little frustrated, too, because it was not the first time that he has done that. We know he can shoot and we had to find him. He is a great shooter, so you have to give him credit.”
Hornets coach Brett Moore has given Kern the green light on 3-pointers as his accuracy improves.
“He is shooting the ball at a pretty high percentage; we talked about him getting more shots and looks,” Moore said. “He has really improved his shot. When he shoots the ball with arc and puts some effort and focus into it in practice, he gets better and better.
“We have been on him to shoot more. As a team, we are trying to keep our 3s down; we are trying to be selective of who is getting them. We need to get him some more looks.”
Kern finished with 20 points and once he opened up the perimeter, Hinsdale South was able to get the ball inside to junior center Barret Benson.
Benson finished with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.
“We are starting to move the ball more and are getting the ball inside to Barret,” Kern said. “Everyone is getting equal shots. When we get the ball to Barret, the defense collapses, so that opens up the outside game for shooters like me and the other guards.”
Patrick Kelly is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press