York responds at 'gut-check time' vs. Downers Grove North

A timeout in a key situation on can often mean the difference between victory and defeat. Just ask York's boys basketball team.

With 7:02 left in the Dukes' matchup with a tough Downers Grove North team and the game tied 49-49 but with the momentum clearly on the Trojans' side, York coach Vince Doran called time.

"We said in the timeout, this is what our conference is about," Doran said. "It's gut-check time."

So what happened? True, the Dukes gave up a baseline layup by Trey Boston to give the Trojans a 51-49 lead. But then York went on a 14-0 run en route to a 63-53 victory to improve to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the West Suburban Silver.

That big game-ending run started innocently enough, with an offensive rebound by senior John Milling off an Erik Cohn missed jumper. The ball ended up in the hands of senior guard Nick Kosich, who promptly buried a 3-pointer.

The points then came in droves for the Dukes. A three-point play by junior guard Nate Shockey. A goaltending call on a shot by senior forward Sam Walsh. A Shockey layup off a Trojans' turnover. Two Kosich free throws, and finally a Walsh layup that started with another Downers North turnover.

"That's what our team revolves around," Kosich said. "We all rely on one another, and if a guy's not doing well, another guy is going to pick him up. That's how we started bringing momentum back our way."

Added Walsh: "We're all so comfortable around each other. I mean, we've been playing three, four years together, and just having that senior leadership, for the younger guys and for us, knowing we can depend on each other helps us in times like that."

Kosich and Walsh each finished with 20 points, while Shockey and senior forward Erik Cohn each had 9. The Dukes shot 52 percent from the field and hit on six 3-pointers.

The big run offset a substantial night by Downers North senior guard Semaj Henderson, who led all scorers with 22 points. He scored his team's first 8 points and then added 5 in an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter that cut York's lead to 27-25.

"I think it was just a learning experience for us," Henderson said. "We battled all the way back into the game. We had the momentum coming into the fourth quarter. A couple of bad turnovers and the momentum switched right away. It's just going to come along with more experience."

That was the big bugaboo for the Trojans (7-3, 2-2), turnovers. They had 23 of them, and the Dukes scored - you guessed it - 23 points off those turnovers.

"We took the 2-point lead and then we give up that offensive rebound for a 3, and that set everything in motion, and you should be able to respond in those situations and we didn't," Trojans' coach Jim Thomas said.

Boston finished with 10 points, while fellow seniors Connor Ilyavi and Scott Jakobsze each had 7. The Trojans outrebounded York 13-12.