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Big second half powers Kaneland past Hampshire

Mark Lilly had the final points of the postseason boys basketball game Tuesday night in Maple Park on a breakaway layup in the waning seconds.

It was only fitting as the Kaneland senior guard was at the forefront of the Knights' dramatic 73-66 victory over Hampshire at the Knights' Class 3A regional semifinal.

Lilly scored 19 of his career-high 23 points in the second half as Kaneland exploded for 49 points, including 31 in the decisive fourth quarter, after halftime.

Kaneland (19-8), second seed among its and the Glenbard South regional, will meet either Sycamore or Aurora Central Catholic Friday night in an attempt to win its second championship in the last three years.

Hampshire, the ninth seed, had its season close at 10-18.

Lilly did not miss any of 3 field-goal attempts in the fourth quarter while also converting 7 of his 9 free throws in the Knights' come-from-behind victory.

The senior also had 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals to lead the Knights in all categories.

"We're a team full of seniors," Lilly said. "Believing in each other, believing in what we do in practice every day (paid off). Whatever it takes to win is something to do."

Of the five Kaneland players who scored, four ended in double figures.

The Knights trailed for more than two-plus quarters after Breenen Woods' 4 straight points gave Hampshire the lead early in the second quarter. The Whip-Purs doubled the Knights' 9 second-quarter points as the latter was dogged by turnovers. Bryan Diete hit a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the second quarter to give Hampshire a 32-24 lead at the break. The Knights missed only 3 shots in the second quarter but were guilty of twice as many turnovers.

"The turnovers were really bad in the second quarter," Kaneland guard Dylan Vaca said.

"We weren't surprised we came out that way," Hampshire coach Ben Whitehouse said. "We expected to play that way."

But it would be an entirely different Kaneland team after the break as the Knights had to overcome a double-digit deficit in the opening minutes of the third quarter.

The Knights clawed back with foul-shot efficiency; Kaneland then turned the game around with its defensive intensity. Forcing twice as many turnovers after the intermission, the Knights' comeback win was engineered by the superlative all-around play of Lilly.

Balanced scoring was equally prominent for the Knights as Ryan David and Vaca had 18 and 17 points, respectively, to augment the game-high Lilly tally.

"Having three guys in double figures is hard to beat," Vaca said. "That's how we kind of look at it. Our second half was really good. It was our game to win."

The Knights' sixth-man, Mitchel Groen, who had 10 points, capped an 8-0 fourth-quarter run that gave Kaneland a 62-55 lead.

Hampshire guard Deion Garcia hit four 3-pointers to lead the Whips with 17 points.

Woods and Danny Duchaj finished with 15 and 11 points.

"We have come a long way over the course of the year," Whitehouse said.

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