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Leyden notches first West Suburban Gold win

As the Addison Trail and Leyden boys basketball teams got set to face one another Friday night in Northlake, they could've easily been looking in the mirror at each one another with regard to their seasons.

Both teams were right around the .500 mark.

Both entered the contest after splitting their holiday tournament games. Leyden went 2-2 at the Glenbard West Holiday Tournament. Addison Trail was 3-3 over the break by winning twice in their debut appearance at the Hinkle Holiday Classic at Jacobs followed by a win at Streamwood in Wednesday's opening round of pool play for the Lake Zurich MLK weekend Classic.

Last, but not least, both teams were a combined 0-5 in West Suburban Gold play.

Leyden trailed 40-31 early in the fourth quarter but outscored Addison Trail 19-9 over the game's final 6:38 to win 50-49.

Leyden found itself trailing as a result of the Blazers' 15-3 run that broke open a tight game over nearly the first three quarters. The streak was highlighted by A.J. Parnell's 3-pointer that ended the third period.

The Eagles began their comeback with Kyler Britten's 3-pointer with 6:30 remaining. By the time Jake Fiala hit the second of 2 free throws, the home team was within 42-41 with 3:26 left.

The next three minutes see-sawed back and forth with a pair of Parnell tosses from the foul line leaving Addison Trail (8-8, 0-4) up 49-45 with 27 seconds left.

The Eagles then set the stage for comeback when Elkin Mejia connected for a 3-pointer to close the home team to within 49-48 with 15 seconds left.

During Leyden's subsequent timeout, junior swingman Ocean Johnson recalled the most important thing his coach told him as the Blazers were to inbounds the ball.

"To pressure the ball and to commit no fouls," he said.

Fiala intercepted the ball, which found its way into Johnson's hands and he was fouled with 11 seconds to play.

After the 6-3 Johnson made both free throws, the Blazers got the ball to midcourt where they called a timeout with seven seconds left to set up a potential game-winning shot.

Again, Johnson referred back to the previous timeout.

"Just try not to overthink what you need to do," he said.

Thanks to successful ball pressure, the Blazers wer not able to get off a shot as the horn sounded.

Johnson led Leyden with 16 points that included four 3-pointers.

"I'm getting more confident with my shot," Johnson said. "Last year, I'd take maybe 6 or 7 shots. This year, I'm taking nearly triple that amount. I'm also better at finishing at the rim. It's helped to raise my confidence."

After winning three of five games during the holiday break, coach Bill Heisler and his squad will look to continue their momentum at their own Norm Goodman Court home floor at their East Campus in Franklin Park. They will face Elmwood Park on Tuesday night for a nonconference game before returning to Gold play next Friday at Hinsdale South.

"What we're trying to do is stack some wins together before we get into the heart of our conference schedule," Heisler said. "Every game in our conference is a battle and it is always great to get a win in this league especially when you can take care of business."

Addison Trail, which was led in scoring by junior guard Adem Mehmeti's 17 points, will also host a nonconference game on Tuesday against Maine East before hosting Proviso East next Friday in its return to WSC Gold play.

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