Sports
Boys Basketball: H-F Holds Off L-W Central, Completes Perfect Conference Season
Homewood-Flossmoor 56, Lincoln-Way Central 43. The Vikings overcame a cold-shooting first quarter and outlasted a Lincoln-Way Central barrage of outside jumpers to finish the Southwest Suburban Conference unscathed.
The Hot Read: On Senior Night, Homewood-Flossmoor came out energized by the pregame festivities and forced seven Lincoln-Way Central turnovers with ball pressure in the first quarter. The Vikings put up 14 points in the first quarter, but the Knights stayed in the game with their outside shooting. Lincoln-Way Central cut down its turnovers in the second quarter, but was unable to get any closer as H-F senior guard Julian Lewis scored six points in the quarter. H-F led 28-22 at halftime.
H-F came strong out of the gates in the third quarter and led 38-24 behind the play of junior forward Tim Williams, who highlighted the run with a finger roll in the lane. Lincoln-Way Central fought back, however, and got within three points at 43-40 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Junior center Brad Foster led the comeback with tough play inside. However, the Vikings responded with an 11-1 run and closed out the regular season with a 56-43 win and a perfect conference record.
Patch’s MVP: H-F senior guard David Fatoki (6 points, 9 assists, 8 steals) received high praise from his coach, Jim McLaughlin. “He really brought his game. I think he made a big difference,” McLaughlin said.
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Key Stats: H-F attacked the offensive glass hard. The Vikings finished with 10 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Lincoln-Way Central 29-22 in total rebounds. The Knights finished with 14 turnovers, while H-F committed just six.
H-F’s Leaders: In addition to Fatoki, senior guard Julian Lewis (15 points, 5 rebounds), junior forward Delvon Rencher (11 points, 6 rebounds) and junior forward Tim Williams (9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals).
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Lincoln-Way Central’s Leaders: Junior center Brad Foster (13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists), senior guard Alex Severson (11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and junior guard Johnny Finnin (6 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists).
Quotable: H-F coach Jim McLauglin on his team’s fourth quarter: “We finished the game well in the fourth, which is something that we’ve been preaching for quite a while about finishing games.”
Quotable II: Lincoln-Way Central coach Bob Curran on his team’s mistakes: “I’ve always taken pride in coaching teams that don’t beat ourselves, and we’re still beating ourselves.”
Team Records: H-F: 21-5 overall, 14-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference. Lincoln-Way Central: 11-18, 2-12 in the SSC.
What’s Next: H-F plays the winner of Marian Catholic and Joliet West on Wednesday at the Plainfield Central Regional. Lincoln-Way Central plays Joliet Central at the Stagg Regional on Monday.
