Thornton staked its claim as the best the South Suburbs have to offer by winning the Big Dipper holiday tournament.
Joliet West was busy making waves at the more challenging Pontiac Holiday Tournament at the time, so Thornton went to Joliet on Tuesday night to prove it.
Sam Taylor continued his breakout season and teammate Eryk Preston had the game of his life as the No. 9 Wildcats pulled out a 56-50 road victory over No. 20 Joliet West.
Taylor had 15 and four assists and the 6-foot-6 Preston (10 points, nine rebounds) did all of his scoring in the second half and had six points and four rebounds in the fourth quarter as Thornton (11-1) overcame a six-point deficit after three to win its 11th in a row.
“I couldn’t believe I did that out there,” Preston said. “It’s wild. I can’t believe I did it.”
“We kept playing hard, kept telling each other we got this, and Big E, Eryk, stepped up,” Taylor said. “This is the best game I’ve ever seen him play. We needed it and he stepped up.
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“That was a great team. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we knew the crowd was going to be into it. Pat (Rucker) was fired up the whole time. He kept telling us, ‘We are the best team in the South Suburbs and we’ve got to step up.’ “
A pair of Division I recruits, juniors Teyvion Kirk and Trevian Bell, scored the final five points of the third quarter to give Joliet West (10-5) a 42-36 lead.
It took all of two possessions for Thornton to draw even, as Curtis Dilworth and Rucker hit consecutive 3-pointers before Preston took over in the paint.
“He’s just an athlete and a competitor,” Thornton coach Tai Streets said of Preston. “It just goes to show you, work hard and good things can happen. He didn’t play last year. I didn’t think he was serious about coming out. I’m glad he did.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
Player of the game: Sam Taylor, Thornton, 15 points, 4 assists.
Key performers: Thornton — Eryk Preston, 10 points, 9 rebounds; Curtis Dilworth, 10 points, 2 3-pointers. Joliet West — Teyvion Kirk, 17 points; Trevian Bell, 13 points, 12 rebounds.