It was just like old times Tuesday night for Yorkville’s Bryce Salek, although there was more riding on it this time around. And truth be told, the old times weren’t that old.
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Salek, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, has been coming off the bench early this season for the Foxes after transferring during the offseason from Yorkville Christian.
He ended up in a shootout of sorts in his new team’s tight Southwest Prairie West game at Oswego East against former teammate Jehvion Starwood, a 6-3 junior guard.
“I wasn’t surprised by it,” Starwood said Salek’s hot second-half shooting that included three straight 3-pointers that kept the game close. “I knew he could do what he was doing.
“Bryce and I going back and forth is just something we used to do at practice in scrimmages. It’s just part of the game. Players get hot.”
The Wolves got past that, sparked by a 3-point play from senior guard Bryce Shoto that helped them hold on for a 56-52 victory.
Salek’s shooting helped the Foxes (6-1, 2-1) rally from as many as 12 points down in the first half to get within 38-36 after three quarters.
His third 3-pointer gave Yorkville a short-lived 43-42 lead with 5:08 remaining but Oswego East (7-1, 3-0) promptly took it back on the 3-point play by Shoto.
Starwood also sank a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Mekhi Lowery had a game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Wolves (7-1, 3-0), who were coming off their first loss of the season to Lincoln-Way East.
Jory Boley scored 18 points and Salek added 13 to lead Yorkville (6-1, 2-1).
“Salek got hot there in the second half with those threes,” Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez said. “We weren’t expecting that. We still have to do a better job of defending and getting a hand up.”
Yorkville coach John Holakovsky wasn’t surprised by Salek’s performance.
“Bryce was in this morning at 6:30, getting shots up and wanting to be ready,” Holakovsky said. “It definitely paid off.
“He provides a lot of energy and toughness for us, which I think is big time for us off the bench. He brings some of those little things like hustle, diving on the floor. It all helps.”
LeBaron Lee, a 6-5 senior forward, added 10 points for Yorkville to match the 10 put up by Shoto for Oswego East.
“Usually, we play three guards together a lot,” Holakovsky said. “I think because they were playing three 6-6 kids, we had to go a little bigger, which put Bryce at the three position. He usually plays the four for us, kind of spelling Jason Jakstys or Lee.
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“It was a different look for us.”
Despite his big numbers, Lowery struggled at the free-throw line, shooting just 3 of 10. He made up for it, though, grabbing offensive rebounds on five of those misses.
“I had to do something,” he said.
It helped Oswego East finish with a 37-28 edge in rebounds, a much-needed effort because the Wolves finished 11 of 22 on free throws. Fortunately for them, Starwood converted 7 of 8.
Salek enjoyed the duel with Starwood.
“It was really fun,” Salek said. “That’s my boy, always. We were going back and forth. I love playing that team.
“I knew the opponent we were playing. It was a big game and I had to step up, them having a top 25 ranking.”
The two teams will meet again in the second round of conference play.
“We knew they would compete,” Velasquez said. “They have some big boys. We had to make sure to pay attention to the game plan and give them different looks defensively. Next time, maybe we can do a better job collectively from the free-throw line.”
“I told our guys at halftime that being up by nine points, they knew Yorkville could make a run, and to not be satisfied. They needed to fight 16 more minutes and weather the storm.”