Addison Trail stuns Willowbrook
Every Addison Trail boys basketball player dreams of beating District 88 rival Willowbrook.
No one, however, dreamed up Wednesday.
The Blazers couldn't have played much better in an 81-67 upset victory over Willowbrook in the Class 4A Batavia regional semifinals.
With the win 12th-seeded Addison Trail (18-11) advances to its first regional final since 2001 in search of its first regional title since 1980. The opponent is No. 4 Naperville North (22-5), seeking its first regional title since 2006.
Addison Trail lost twice to No. 5 Willowbrook (24-5) in West Suburban Gold play by a combined 35 points. The Blazers more than turned the tables on Wednesday, closing the first quarter on an 18-0 run and stretching the burst to 23-0 to build a 33-6 lead.
The Warriors sped up the game as much as they could in an attempt to rally, but they never came closer than 11 points away in the second half. A 17-7 Willowbrook run at the end of the first half merely put the margin at 40-23 at the break.
"Our goal all year was to beat Willowbrook," said Blazers senior guard Jack Kalbas. "To beat them like this I did not expect. Playing three years on varsity, I never expected it. It's magical for me."
Five different players scored during Addison Trail's decisive run. Kalbas, Breydon Hargrove and Bobby Daniels each knocked down 3-pointers while Michael Williams converted a three-point play.
"The first quarter killed us," said Warriors coach Chris Perkins, whose team set a program record for wins in a season. "They came out playing championship basketball, and it took us a whole quarter to realize this was the playoffs and we need to wake up. We came up a little short, but we should take a step back and reflect on a great season overall."
Williams scored 26 points, Hargrove 18, Kalbas 15, Colton Noel 12 points and Daniels 10 points. Noel also had 9 rebounds.
Willowbrook, hampered by 19 turnovers, was paced by Matas Masys' 16 points. Freddie Clay scored 13 and Iman Reynolds 11 off the bench. Ethan Schuemer had 8 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
"I really liked the energy we had," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons. "It was great and we were able to ride that momentum and that start we had. It carried us through."
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