H-F forces OT, passes up Libertyville
Homewood-Flossmoor’s boys basketball team erased a 10-point deficit over the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime and score a 62-54 win over Libertyville in opening-round action of the Proviso West Holiday Tournament on Saturday.
It was the fourth loss in a row for Libertyville (5-4).
Homewood-Flossmoor (6-3) started strong, scoring the game’s first seven points, but Libertyville closed the first quarter on a 16-2 run to lead by seven after one quarter. The Wildcats led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter and were up 32-20 at the half.
Homewood-Flossmoor cut its deficit to six points early in the third quarter with a 7-0 run, but Libertyville led 38-29 after three. H-F sliced its deficit back to six again with 4:52 left in the contest, but a layup followed by a dunk from Steven Braun put the Wildcats back up 45-35 with 4:21 left.
A pair of buckets from Destin Barnes and a layup from Jaylen Thompson pulled H-F within 45-41 with 2:26 left on the clock. Dorian McCraney connected on a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with two minutes left. Then after a turnover by the Wildcats, Tai Odiase knocked down a jumper to give Homewood-Flossmoor its first lead since the opening quarter.
Braun split a pair of free throws with 1:25 left to even the score at 46-46. H-F elected to play for the final shot but missed both of its chances in the closing seconds.
Trailing by one in the extra period, H-F used a 6-0 run, sparked by a 3-pointer from McCraney, dunk from Odiase and free throw from Thompson to open up a 55-50 lead with 1:10 left.
The Vikings put the game away from the free-throw line, sinking 9 of 12 attempts in the closing minute.
Homewood-Flossmoor shot 35 percent (21 of 60) from the floor, including 35 percent (5 of 17) from long distance. The Vikings forced Libertyville into 19 turnovers, resulting in 20 points for H-F.
Barnes led the Vikings with a double-double of 21 points and 14 rebounds. He added 3 assists and 4 steals. McCraney added 16 points, while Odiase scored eight. Davon Smith totaled 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Libertyville finished the game shooting 41 percent (19 of 46) from the floor, including 31 percent (5-of-16) from 3-point range. Braun led the Wildcats with 17 points and 9 rebounds, while shooting 6-of-7 from the floor. Conor Peterson came off the bench to score 15 points. Jack Lipp added 10 points and 5 assists.
On Friday, Libertyville will face Dunbar at 11:45 a.m. in the field house.
Wauconda 68, Westminster Christian 58:At Marengo, the Bulldogs completed a 2-0 day in the E.C. Nichols tournament, as Ben Carlson scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, including 7 on the offensive glass.
Joey Lovelle (13 points), Dylan Latiolais (11) and Kevin Malisheski (10) also scored in double figures for Wauconda (9-2), which ran its winning streak to six games. Dion Head chipped in 8 points and 7 assists for the Bulldogs.
Wauconda 48, Woodstock North 32: At Marengo, Ben Carlson’s 12 points and 11 rebounds led the Bulldogs in their opening game of the E.C. Nichols tournament.
Dion Head added 11 points and 4 rebounds for Wauconda (8-2), while Ricky Sidlowski grabbed 11 boards and scored 6 points.
Grant 78, Round Lake 61: At Marengo, Ryan Noda had 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals for the Bulldogs in an opening-round game of the E.C. Nichols tournament.
Marshall Clark and Luke Lostroscio added 10 points apiece for Grant (5-2), while Rayvon Jones contributed 9.
Michael Green had 19 points for Round Lake (1-8), which lost to Grant only 64-60 on Dec. 11.