Win over Willowbrook just what Addison Trail ordered

From all angles and at all times, Addison Trail’s boys basketball team just kept coming at Willowbrook on Saturday.

After leading by as many as 34 points, the host Blazers cruised to a 77-57 West Suburban Gold victory to claim midseason bragging rights in the District 88 rivalry.

“That’s always a big game for us here,” said Addison Trail junior Taylor White. “We’re always excited to play Willowbrook. It’s one of the biggest games for the school. We were all real excited. There was a lot of energy coming into this game.”

Addison Trail (9-11, 4-2), coming off a huge Gold win Friday at Morton, put the outcome to rest with a devastating 18-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and the start of the second. The Warriors (2-14, 0-6) never came closer than 14 points away the rest of the game.

“We knew we had to start quick on these guys,” said fourth-year Blazers starter James Pupillo. “After yesterday we had a couple sore guys here and there, but we knew we were the more athletic team and we had to run on these guys.”

The Warriors’ disappointment ran deep, especially considering the tremendous fight they put up against Proviso East in an 11-point loss the night before. Coach Chris Perkins called three timeouts during the pivotal 18-0 run, but nothing seemed to get Willowbrook going.

Chris Poole and Carlos Meyers each scored 13 points for Willowbrook, with Meyers scoring all his points in the fourth quarter.

“We definitely started out flat, and that wound up costing us,” Perkins said. “Once we got behind we didn’t have the patience we needed. We didn’t keep our composure.”

Twelve players scored for the Blazers paced by three double-digit performers. White led the way with 18 points while Ronald Duling added 14 points and Pupillo 10 points.

The victory puts Addison Trail in a position not many expected through the first half of the Gold schedule: in second place behind league-leading Proviso East.

“The last three weeks — Hinsdale South, Morton, tonight — we’ve just talked a lot about composure,” said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. “I think our leadership from our guard play with James and Ronald has been there. They haven’t allowed us to go through those lulls. That was huge last night and it was huge tonight.”

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