Willowbrook finds winning mettle in return to action
Willowbrook needed rust removal early.
Hinsdale Central needed leg rest late.
Saturday's boys basketball matchup in Hinsdale meant different things to different teams at different times, but Willowbrook pieced it together for a 60-48 nonconference victory over the Red Devils.
The Warriors (10-2) hadn't played since Dec. 28, and even took five days off after their last game. Hinsdale Central (4-9), on the other hand, pulled out a West Suburban Silver Conference win over Glenbard West on Friday.
As Willowbrook found its rhythm in the fourth quarter on Saturday, the Red Devils started to fade.
"We used the first half to try and get our game legs under us," said Warriors coach Chris Perkins. "We got a better rhythm going in the second half."
There were four ties and a lead change in the first quarter as Willowbrook struggled through 3-of-10 shooting. An 11-0 second-quarter burst, featuring a trio of 3-pointers from Sikander Zafar and Scott Tumilty, put the Warriors ahead to stay.
Willowbrook pushed the lead to 10 points in the third quarter, and a tired Red Devils squad couldn't narrow the margin closer than 6 points - especially with senior guard Trevor Hamilton playing 32 minutes for a second straight night despite being sick earlier in the week.
"I thought we were a little leg weary but that's not an excuse by any stretch of the imagination," said Red Devils coach Nick Latorre. "They're very very good. Their experience was a major factor down the stretch."
The Warriors' starting five accounted for 54 points, with Matt Myers and Ethan Schuemer, who had 11 rebounds, each scoring 13 points. Zafar and Matas Masys scored 10 points and Neil Paxton Jr. added 8 points.
Hamilton scored 7 of his 14 points in the first quarter for Hinsdale Central.
"I knew we had to come in and get a 'W' today because we had a 10-day break," Myers said. "This is going to be a tough month for us, so we needed to get the rust off today."
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