Peotone knocks off Lisle
The Lisle boys basketball team had its moments during Friday's 47-38 loss to visiting Peotone that opened Interstate Eight Conference play. There just were not enough of them.
The Blue Devils (4-2, 1-0) took a 35-25 lead on a shot by Matt Gaskin at the buzzer to end the third quarter. The Lions (3-2, 0-1) responded in a big way to start the fourth quarter. Nick Massura stole the ball and got it to teammate Trevor Stitt, who hit net. Seconds later Peotone coughed the ball up again, and Massura made good on the basket to put Lisle to within 6.
Peotone coach Scott Maupin called a timeout with 6:50 left in the game to try and cool the Lions' momentum.
"We started to play hard. We were a little soft most of the night," said Lisle coach Mark LaScala. "We finally got aggressive on the defensive end. We wanted to accelerate. But most of the night, we played at Peotone's pace."
After the Blue Devils called another timeout about a minute later, they went back up 37-29 before Lisle's Mark McGrath hit a 3-pointer to pull the Lions to within 5. McGrath was Lisle's top scorer with 12 points, including two 3-point baskets along with 9 rebounds. The Lions finished with seven 3-pointers on the night.
"We're not a very big team, so we are going to have to make shots from the arc. We''ll try 15-25 a game and we'll have to make at least a third to be successful. I have confidence in our shooters." LaScala said.
After McGrath's shot valuable time was eaten off the clock, but not intentionally, because neither team could mount much offense. With 1:41 left in the contest, Peotone's Eric Moreno scored on a putback to make it 39-32 with the Lions' Ryan Gillen responding soon after with a 3 to pull his team to within 4.
After Moreno hit a layup and with a less than a minute remaining, the game was spent at the free-throw line. Lisle made 3 of 4, while the Blue Devils went 6 of 6 to keep the space between them and Lisle.
Although it was just the conference opener for both teams and many league games remain, both coaches stressed the need to get off to a good start in league play before the Christmas tournaments.
"There's so much parity. Wins on the road are tough to come by and to get a win here is big," Maupin said. "It's a tough gym to play in."
The Lions stay in conference play with a Tuesday trip to Seneca.
"We don't get to see Peotone again. We only play each team once. I think the first four games before Christmas will determine who is in the race and who isn't. Two losses could be crucial. Tonight was disappointing. Hopefully, we'll rebound Tuesday," LaScala said.