Willowbrook gets the pace it wanted against Addison Trail
Willowbrook loves to start boys basketball games by pushing the pace and using pressure to build a lead that, hopefully, will be tough for an opponent to overcome.
That plan was executed to a "T" Friday night in the Warriors' West Suburban Gold tilt against Addison Trail.
Willowbrook put together a 14-0 run in the first quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers from senior guard Scotty Tumilty and three straight baskets from junior guard Everett Stubblefield III.
The two rivals played basically even the rest of the way, which allowed the Warriors to emerge with a 70-58 victory to improve to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in league.
"We typically try to start like that every game," Willowbrook coach Chris Perkins said. "We were forcing some quick turnovers to start the game, and that gave us some good looks, some high-percentage shots, some layups, and then we were able to extend."
Tumilty had already hit one 3-pointer when he squared up from the right arc and hit his second with 6:15 left in the first quarter. After his brother, Sam, dropped in a shot off the glass, it was Scotty Tumilty again from the right arc.
Stubblefield then got in the act, with three straight buckets, the second a layup off a steal, and the third a jumper left of the lane.
"I think we just came out aggressive," Scotty Tumilty said. "We came off a good win Monday against Oswego East and we shot really well that game and I think it carried over. Our coach wanted us to come out strong, because it's a big district rival."
Added Stubblefield, "Coach wanted us to come out early and get them out of the game early so they wouldn't have a chance at the end."
After the big run Willowbrook had a 19-4 lead, but the Warriors weren't running away with anything. Addison Trail bounced back with 7 second-quarter points from senior guard Adem Mehmeti, and it looked as if the Blazers would enter halftime down by just 8.
Wrong. After Mehmeti hit a layup with five seconds left, Stubblefield gathered a touchdown inbounds pass and sank a layup with 0.4 seconds left. On top of it, he was fouled, and the three-point play gave Willowbrook a 38-26 halftime lead.
"We never recovered from that," Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons said of Willowbrook's early run. "I thought we played hard and competed the rest of the way, but that first kind of blow they threw at us, and the play at the end of the half was a back breaker.
"Credit to them. They shot well, played well and couldn't get back over the hump."
Mehmeti paced the Blazers with 17 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
"Adem's a grinder," Lyons said. "He had a great start to the year. Hit a wall a little bit, but the last three or four games he's really been playing well offensively."
Senior guards K'Vhon Pounds and Sheldon Allgood were also solid contributors for Addison Trail (9-12, 0-8).
Stubblefield led Willowbrook with 19 points in all 32 minutes, while Scotty Tumilty added 18, including four 3-pointers. Senior forward Charlie Flak scored 13 of his 15 points in the third quarter, including a trio of 3s.
Interestingly, at 50 percent, the Blazers shot slightly better than the Warriors. But Addison Trail turned the ball over 14 times compared to 9 for Willowbrook.