WW South celebrates in the end
Tooth and nail, Wheaton Warrenville South's boys basketball team fought to defend its home court until the not-so-bitter end.
The end was actually pretty sweet.
Chase Stebbins' free throw with 0.7 seconds left turned out to be the only point in overtime as the Tigers claimed the title of the WW South MLK Tournament with Monday's 55-54 victory over Bloomington.
After stopping Bloomington (15-3) on the opening possession of overtime, WW South (19-1) ran down the final three-plus minutes while seeking the perfect shot. It didn't happen, but the Tigers got the next best thing.
Bloomington was whistled for a foul of Stebbins on the baseline, and the junior knocked down the first free throw. The Purple Raiders called time out after grabbing the rebound of the miss on the second attempt, but they couldn't get off a shot with 0.4 on the clock.
"We've got a great group of guys and we all step up in big moments," said Tigers junior guard Parker Robinson. "We're not the biggest in size, but we play with a lot of heart and we play together."
With victories over Glenbard East, Auburn, Homewood-Flossmoor and Bloomington, WW South emerged battered but unbeaten from the grueling 16-team weekend event.
"They're resilient kids, but this was tough," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "We'll take it."
WW South trailed only once after the opening basket of the game. Stebbins split a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left in regulation to give the Tigers a 54-52 lead, but Jeremiah Beasley sent the game to overtime with a Bloomington basket with 15 seconds left.
Dillon Durrett, an all-tournament selection, led the Tigers with 15 points while Stebbins had 12 points and Robinson 10 points. Colton Sandage led all scorers with 20 points for Bloomington.
"Having everyone here in the stands for the championship like this, it's awesome," said Tigers all-tournament honoree Drew Healy. "We're just working as hard as we can out there."
WW South 56, Homewood-Flossmoor 32:
The Tigers put on an absolute clinic on both ends of the court to beat Homewood-Flossmoor 56-32 in the WW South MLK Tournament semifinals Monday afternoon.
WW South cruised after scoring the game's first 9 points and building a 13-2 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Vikings, playing short-handed due to multiple injuries, couldn't solve the Tigers ball press defense in a frustrating 32 minutes.
"It's fun playing at home in a tournament like this in a big game against a team that's highly ranked," said Tigers junior Chase Stebbins, who knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 15 points. "We just kept building off it and doing what we do."
Dillon Durrett continued his strong play in the tournament, leading all scorers with 21 points while pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Two turnovers converted into buckets pulled the Vikings within 26-21 at the start of the second half, but the Tigers closed the third quarter on a 17-2 run. Homewood-Flossmoor scored the first basket of the fourth quarter, but WW South responded with 13 straight points, including a 3-pointer by Jake Healy, who scored 10 points, and a dunk by Durrett.
"I feel like we've worked hard for this," Durrett said. "This is our house and it's nice to represent our school."
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