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Waubonsie Valley can't process Oswego East defense

Waubonsie Valley's boys basketball team has come so far but couldn't get this one.

In Tuesday's Class 4A East Aurora sectional semifinals, No. 3 seed Oswego East used a zone defense and a couple other wrinkles to force the No. 2 seed Warriors far from the basket.

It worked, the Wolves winning 58-36 to reach Friday's sectional final against No. 1 Bolingbrook, a 75-61 winner over No. 4 West Aurora also on Tuesday.

Avenging a 67-61 loss on Feb. 9, Oswego East (24-7) ended the Warriors' season with a record of 27-5, tying the program's second-highest wins total. As a freshman, four year-starting guard Eric Cannon played on a five-win team.

"It was a great transformation, I think, everyone just buying in, which is something that was a lot different from my freshman year," said Cannon, who finished with 10 points to follow fellow senior Derrien Porter's team-high 17 points.

"Guys just buying into the program and just becoming a family and building that kind of culture, I think that was really important for us. It showed this year. I think the guys really liked each other, everyone just wanted to be here, bought into the process," Cannon said.

  Waubonsie Valley's Marcus Skeete drives for a shot against Oswego East's Kamron Battle in the Class 4A sectional semifinal boys basketball game in Aurora Tuesday. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

They knew Oswego East's process - a 2-3 zone that would splinter into a box-and-1 against Cannon or triangle-and-2 against Cannon and junior Marcus Skeete. It forced the Warriors to operate on the perimeter.

"We just didn't execute any of our plans today," said Waubonsie coach Jason Mead. "We caught the ball too high, we weren't catching to score. And then when you miss shots, when you don't puncture the middle, you end up not really getting much."

Waubonsie tied the score 9-9 after one quarter on a Porter 3, and the Warriors led 12-11 early in the second quarter on Caymen Woods' inside basket. Oswego East, paced by Ray J Dennis with 18 points, ended the first half on an 8-2 run to lead 19-14 at halftime.

"That was probably our best defensive game all year," said Dennis, the transfer from Montini headed to Boise State.

Porter pierced the lane a bit in the second half, but Oswego East shot 14 of 23 from the floor and outrebounded Waubonsie 14-8 the last two quarters. The Wolves' 6-foot-7 Sam Schultz scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

"We did a few different things out there, and that's the key," said Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez. "We want them to be thinking and we want to be playing fast."

  Waubonsie Valley's Marcus Skeete and Derrien Porter talks with head coach Jason Mead in the Class 4A sectional semifinal boys basketball game against Oswego East in Aurora Tuesday. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

Oswego East led 33-19 in the third quarter before Porter scored 5 straight points. Dennis and Cannon traded 3s as the quarter closed for a 36-27 Wolves lead, Cannon swishing his just inside midcourt.

Waubonsie held within 43-32 at 5:17 of the fourth quarter. Dennis and guard Demari Grant, who scored 16 points, spread it to a 53-33 margin with 2:27 to play.

"The focus coming into the game really was to get the ball in the middle. They took it away by having us come out so high," Porter said. "It was pretty tough, but the second half we were able to get it in a little bit more, able to exploit the gaps. We just didn't exploit it in the first half, and it could have made a different game if we did."

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