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Willowbrook can't deny Downers Grove North

Downers Grove North's third straight win didn't come easy.

Knowing the tough path ahead in the playoffs, the Trojans hope to continue that trend next week.

They trailed by 10 points with under six minutes to play but rallied to edge Willowbrook 59-57 in Tuesday's West Suburban Conference crossover boys basketball game in Villa Park.

Anthony Castelvecchi knocked down a pair of free throws with two seconds left to cap the comeback for Downers North (13-13), which enters the postseason having to put together another three-game winning streak to claim the Class 4A Lyons Twp. regional title.

"We came back and showed we have a lot of fight left in us," said Castelvecchi, who scored 7 of his 14 points in the game's final three minutes. "We're going to go into Lyons firing on all cylinders. We've got to get a streak going, and we've got the talent to do it."

Willowbrook (10-18) faced a 13-point first-half deficit but stormed out of the half with a 26-3 third-quarter run as Ethan Schuemer scored 9 of his game-high 19 points.

By the end of the dominant eight-minute stretch, the Warriors led 50-40, a margin that remained at 10 when Neil Paxton Jr. scored with 5:29 left in the game.

"It took us a lot of energy to get back in the game like that," said Warriors coach Chris Perkins. "I felt like we kind of ran out of gas a little bit in the fourth quarter."

Downers North closed the game on a 14-2 run, including the final 6 points. With the score knotted at 57, Willowbrook worked down the final minute in an attempt at a last shot but turned the ball over with about 10 seconds to play.

Castelvecchi was fouled near midcourt to put the Trojans into the bonus, and the junior point guard knocked down both ends of the 1-and-1.

Devin Blake led the Trojans with 18 points while Bryan Jakobsze scored 12 points.

"This was a good test for us," said Trojans coach Jim Thomas. "Battling through some adversity like that, it was important for us to get that third straight win."

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