Hinsdale South adjusts to York

The seeds are set and the conference hardware's handed out.

But there was still some pride on the line Wednesday night.

Hinsdale South's boys basketball team reigned supreme in the West Suburban Conference first-place crossover game, bringing bragging rights to the Gold with a 43-34 victory over Silver champion York at Addison Trail.

"We knew that was probably one of the better teams we've played," said Hornets sophomore Bobby Durkin. "It was just a matter of getting adjusted to their defense. Getting used to it took a while, but toward the end we started to get a flow for it and knocked down some big shots."

A deliberate pace kept the Gold champions out of sync for much of the game, but a 6-0 run to start the fourth quarter got the Hornets (28-3) back on track. It wasn't exactly an offensive explosion, but it felt like it in this kind of game.

Durkin knocked down a 3-pointer and James Ruzicka added another as the lead grew throughout the final period. Down the stretch the Hornets made 8 of 10 free throws.

"I heard people saying it was boring, but we're both 27-3 coming into the game so the kids are willing to do whatever it takes to win," said Hinsdale South coach Brett Moore. "It might not have been the most exciting game, but we'll take it."

York (27-4) continues to play without leading scorer and North Dakota commit Nate Shockey due to mono, but there's hope he'll return for next week's regional. Hinsdale South suffered a big loss in the opening minutes of Wednesday's game when starting senior guard Daeshawn Amy went down with an ankle injury and was taken to the hospital for X-rays.

Dukes sophomore Nick Hesch sparked his team with a trio of third-quarter 3-pointers that pushed York to a 5-point lead, a lead maintained at the end of the quarter when Jeff Grace scored in the final seconds.

Hesch and Durkin each scored 14 points to lead their respective teams. Ruzicka had 6 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, while Grace scored 6 of his 9 points in the second half.

"Maybe this gives us a little bit of an edge going into the playoffs," said Dukes coach Vince Doran. "I thought we played great. I'm as proud of our guys tonight as I've been all year."

Twitter: @kevin_schmit