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York gets it done in regulation time

The first meeting between Downers Grove North and York was an instant classic, with the Trojans winning 58-56 in double overtime back on Dec. 15.

On Friday the Dukes took the drama out of the rematch right from the start.

Jumping to an 11-0 lead out of the gate, York led wire-to-wire in a 58-45 victory over the Trojans in the West Suburban Silver matchup in Elmhurst.

"We didn't want them to sweep us this season," said junior center Sam Walsh, who led a balanced scoring effort with 13 points. "Especially losing the first time in double overtime, we were frustrated with that loss. So we knew we had to come out and play hard.

"Our defense was able to shut them down - we held them to nine points in the first half. We knew they would come out strong in the second half, but we just had to keep making plays."

Indeed, the Dukes (15-8, 5-3) limited the Trojans to four made fields goals in the opening 16 minutes while forcing six turnovers. As a result, the home team took a 26-9 lead into the break, with Walsh and John Milling scoring 8 points apiece.

But the Trojans, who were playing without injured leading scorer Semaj Henderson, made things interesting in the second half, slicing the deficit to 38-30 in the fourth quarter. That comeback was keyed by reserve Philip Cohen, who knocked down five 3-pointers in the final period to lead all scorers with 15 points.

"He's (Cohen) been practicing well," said Downers Grove North coach Jim Thomas, who also indicated Henderson should return for their next game. "He's been competing in practice and he's earned minutes. That is one positive we take away, we just got deeper.

"Our guys showed they are resilient and they keep competing. But overall, this is the second out of the last four games where we didn't guard anyone."

With the margin within single digits, the Dukes responded with a 7-0 run as Angelo Martucci scored back-to-back baskets. He totaled 9 points in the fourth quarter and 11 overall. Milling also checked into double figures with 12, Erik Cohn chipped in with 8 and Nick Kosich finished with 7.

"I thought Sam Walsh was the real key," York coach Vince Doran said. "It was fun to watch Sam and his great effort on the glass. He got a lot of extra rebounds for us. And it was a really good start for us. Our guys were fired up at the beginning of the game and overall, it was a very good first half."

Ryan Force added 8 points for Downers Grove North (13-8, 4-5) and Trey Boston had 7.

York remained in second place in the Silver, three games behind leader Oak Park.

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