Harrington picks right time to spark Lake Park past WW South
Highlighted by 3 blocked shots, Joe Harrington spent most of the night keeping the other team from scoring.
But when it came time to take his own shot, he hit it at just the right moment.
The senior forward's 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play helped Lake Park's boys basketball team pull away for Thursday's 45-37 DuKane Conference victory over Wheaton Warrenville South in Roselle.
Harrington hadn't made a shot since midway through the first quarter but was ready from the left corner when Trevor Montiel passed him the ball. Nursing a 1-point lead at the time, the Lancers (14-2, 4-1) scored the game's final 7 points to seal it.
"I was ready for it," Harrington said. "We really had more tenacity on defense late in the game. We knew we had to come together when it mattered, and we did. Those last couple of minutes, it was a fight. Credit to my teammates for staying with it."
Lake Park's defense came up with multiple defensive stops down the stretch, holding the Tigers (9-7, 1-4) scoreless for the final 3:18 after Parker Brown's 3-pointer pulled WW South within 38-37.
The Tigers trailed by double digits for much of the game, falling behind 35-25 late in the third quarter. A 12-3 run put WW South in position to rally to victory but a late miss for the lead led to Harrington's 3-pointer.
"They made a play and we didn't make a play, but I was pleased with our guys," said Tigers coach Mike Healy. "We've been focusing on ourselves these last couple of days and I thought we were a little tougher tonight and more aggressive. We easily could have gone in a shell after falling behind, but they kept fighting."
Montiel had 5 of his 7 assists in the first half and also scored a game-high 17 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Montrell Perry scored 10 points while Luke Sgarbossa and Harrington scored 8 points apiece.
Brown paced WW South with 14 points. Ben Bastian and Tyler Fawcett added 9 points each.
"I think we got four straight stops there at the end and that was the key," said Lancers coach Billy Pitcher. "We were having a tough time offensively, but when you can rely on the defense you can stay in the game."
Twitter: @kevin_schmit