Willowbrook goes the distance against Proviso East
Willowbrook center Ethan Schuemer thinks his team has a good shot at winning the West Suburban Conference Gold Division boys basketball championship this year.
If the Warriors keep playing like they did Friday night, he might be right.
Schuemer had 14 points and 14 rebounds and guard Marshawn Phillips scored 13 points off the bench as the host Warriors upset Proviso East 59-53 in a league opener.
It was an impressive all-around performance for Willowbrook (5-0, 1-0), which beat the highly touted Pirates at their own game.
"Obviously, we were trying to go as hard as we can," Schuemer said. "Proviso East is a fast team, so we knew we had to go hard the whole game.
"We can't slow things down. I think we kept that mentality throughout the game and eventually we got the win."
Proviso East (1-4, 0-1), which opened the season playing top competition at a tournament in South Carolina, led early yet not for long.
Matthew Myers scored on a drive to put the Warriors up 9-8 at the 4:27 mark of the first quarter and they never trailed again.
Willowbrook broke the Pirates' press with stunning ease, finishing with just 9 turnovers, and got balanced scoring. Matas Masys tallied 12 points, while Myers added 9 and Freddie Clay scored 7.
"I've got a really athletic bunch this year, so we were able to put that on display today and we did a good job," Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins said. "We knew if we were able to take care of the ball that once we get into the half-court we'll be fine.
"I thought we had a lot of different guys we can go to who can help us in the half court."
But the up-tempo game worked, too. The Warriors responded quickly on three occasions in the second half to Proviso East challenges.
Schuemer scored on a putback and Masys followed with a 3-pointer after Proviso East's Jordan Morris missed a dunk that would have cut the gap to 6 late in the third quarter.
The Warriors shot just 3 for 18 in the third but lost just one point off their 34-24 halftime lead.
The cushion was 41-35 when Schuemer dunked on a fast break. The Warriors eventually extended the lead to 58-42 with a 9-2 run that saw Phillips score 7 points in 61 seconds, the last a trey out of the left corner with 2:53 left.
"It was just within the offense," Phillips said. "I felt like I was off the first two, three quarters, so I had to pick it up in the fourth to get the 'W.' Coach told me don't stop shooting, so I kept shooting. I feel like he trusts me more now."
Tyler Chisom led the Pirates with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Trevor Moore added 12 points. But Proviso East didn't have the balance the Warriors displayed.
"Marshawn Phillips took the game over at the end," Perkins said. "It's going to be a different guy every night, but tonight was Marshawn's night."