Proviso East guard Antonio Williams insists he and his teammates weren’t thinking about revenge Friday night in their West Suburban Gold rematch at Downers Grove South.
In fact, following the Pirates’ highly competitive 61-58 win, a game that was tied after each of the first three quarters, Williams was downright appreciative.
“I really want to thank them, actually,” Williams said. “That’s a real tough team we played. This game will help prepare us for a state run.”
The Pirates (11-5, 6-1), who lost 61-58 at home to Downers South on Dec. 4, forced 20 turnovers and continually beat the host Mustangs down the floor. But Proviso East never led by more than eight, and that was in the first quarter.
The teams were tied 19-19 after one quarter, 35-35 at halftime and 47-47 heading into the fourth. The Pirates held leads in the final minute of each period, but Downers South (16-7, 6-1) battled back each time, the last on a 6-0 run to end the third.
Another Proviso East run out with 52 seconds left resulted in an Raishon Alexander layup and a 58-53 lead. The Mustangs countered with Sam Ebersold’s layup to pull within 58-55 with 42 seconds left.
The Pirates appeared to seal the victory on an alley-oop from Alexander to Williams for a 60-55 lead with 32 seconds to play, but they missed the front end of two bonus free throws in the final 20 seconds. Downers South’s T.J. Clifford sank a closely guarded 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to close the gap to 60-58.
Proviso East made the back end of double-bonus foul shots with 9 seconds left, then Willie Greenwood blocked Clifford’s 3-pointer in the final seconds.
The Mustangs’ loss was their first in conference play this season, while Proviso East pulled into a first-place tie.
“I know there are people out there who don’t think this is a great conference,” Williams said. “But tonight showed exactly how tough it is.”
Phil English is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.
Player of the game: Antonio Williams, Proviso East, 23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals.
Other standouts: Proviso East — Tajuan Johnson, 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals; Raishon Alexander, 13 points. Downers Grove South — Denis Alibegovic, 15 points; Sam Ebersold, 15 points.