Willowbrook in a rush to win in first home game
Willowbrook's boys basketball team had a little something extra for the home crowd Tuesday night.
The Warriors put on a show in their only game in Villa Park between the start of the season and 2019, speeding past Hinsdale South 73-46 in their West Suburban Gold matchup.
Small and athletic, Willowbrook (6-1, 2-0) always plays fast and full court. Against the Hornets (3-5, 0-2), however, the Warriors were a blur.
They forced 23 turnovers and converted the bulk of them into points. Willowbrook junior guard Everett Stubblefield III led all scorers with 17 points in limited minutes, taking advantage of his team-high 6 steals.
"Our energy at the beginning of the game, it was great," Stubblefield said. "Our defense led to some easy points on offense. We're headed down the right path right now. We just have to keep working hard."
Many of the turnovers occurred in the backcourt as the Hornets tried to beat the 10-second clock. With at least five turnovers in each quarter, Hinsdale South never gave itself a chance to get settled in.
After Willowbrook started with a 10-4 burst, the Warriors used a 15-2 run to put the margin above double digits to stay.
"It didn't look like we practiced anything pressure-wise," said Hornets coach Brett Moore, whose team had four juniors on the court to start the second half. "We had a lot of guys just playing in survival mode out there, and you can't win that way. We have talent, and we're going to win some games. We're young and we'll bounce back."
Scott Tumilty scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers while Matas Masys and Charlie Flak had 9 points each for Willowbrook. Billy Durkin led Hinsdale South with 14 points. Aaron Tims scored 8 points.
"We've played seven games, but this is our first one at home," said Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins. "The energy and excitement was there. We've played full court every game we've played, but I think the kids had a different bounce in their step playing at home."
Follow Kevin on Twitter