advertisement

Hinsdale Central squeaks out win over Lyons

Billy Cernugel calmly squared himself for the first of two key free throws late in Saturday's game.

The Hinsdale Central senior forward is no stranger to big moments. A standout quarterback who has played in several marquee games in multiple sports, Cernugel wasn't backing down from the moment despite a near capacity crowd at Lyons.

"After practice all the time, I shoot free throws and we have competitions all the time," Cernugel said. "When you go up there, you just think of putting yourself in a close situation and making them."

His teammate, Ben Oosterbaan, wasn't worried about Cernugel falling victim to nerves in the pressure-packed West Suburban Silver Conference game.

"Every day in practice, Billy and I play a free throw competition," he said. "It's always pretty close. He beats me sometimes badly, so I was pretty confident he would make both of those free throws. I kind of knew he would make them."

Cernugel showed all of his extra work in practice was worthwhile, hitting two free throws with 32.9 seconds left in regulation to propel Hinsdale Central to a thrilling 57-55 win over Lyons.

Sixteen seconds after Cernugel's free throws gave the Red Devils (27-3, 10-1) a four-point lead, Lyons sliced the deficit to 57-55 on a basket by Brady Chambers. After the Red Devils failed to capitalize on two late free throws, the Lions (22-5, 7-4) missed a potential tying shot at the buzzer to lose for the second time to their conference rivals.

Cernugel, who scored four points, said he savored avenging last season's two basketball defeats to the Lions, plus a 10-7 loss in football this season.

"We lost to them in football, so we got it back in basketball, and it feels great," Cernugel said. "This is a huge win for the program, just because of the toughness it took to win this game. All those years of tough practices, it comes together to win at their place."

Oosterbaan, a Michigan baseball recruit, is continuing his rise in baseball with another prolific performance. He scored a game-high 22 points, including hitting a pair of buzzer beaters at the end of quarters. He closed out the first half with a highlight-reel 3-pointer.

"The halftime one was my favorite because I hadn't shot the three well, especially in the first half," he said. "When I hit that going into the locker room, I felt more positive on the court. The crowd was awesome for both games. It's awesome when the community and fans all come out. We lost both of the basketball games to them last season, so all offseason we worked hard to get these two wins this year."

The Red Devils knocked off the Lions by receiving contributions from their entire rotation. Senior forward Chase Collignon had a key early basket in the fourth quarter and added 12 points, senior guard Emerson Eck finished with 11 points and senior guard Patrick Graham tallied five points.

"It was a great high school basketball game," Hinsdale Central coach Nick Latorre said. "Win or loss, it was a phenomenal atmosphere with two really good teams going at it. I felt like it was high level basketball in a really fun atmosphere."

Latorre praised Cernugel for his clutch free throws, but noted his work often goes unnoticed.

"Billy is that guy, a glue guy," he said. "He can impact a game without scoring. I've had a few players like that, but he might be the best glue guy I've ever had. He makes the right plays, the right screens and understands our offense. Whatever you need, he's the Swiss army knife. Both teams made big play after big play."

The Lions were led by Nik Polonowski's three 3-pointers for 19 points, while Chambers and Jackson Niego both tossed in 10 points. Chambers and Niego both hit 3s on consecutive trips down the court to give the Lions a 51-50 lead, but Lyons scored just two points in a five-possession sequence during a nearly four-minute stretch.

"The fans got their money's worth," Lyons coach Tom Sloan said. "That was a pretty hard-fought game in an electric atmosphere. It came down to the wire. One play here or there, and it's flipped the other way. You have to credit Hinsdale Central. They made one more play than we did. We played a great second half."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.