Boys Basketball: Plainfield East Nails Crucial Free Throws in Win Over Romeoville

The Hot Read:  Jawan Straughter hit the go-ahead free throw with five seconds remaining in the game to give Plainfield East a comeback 60-59 win over visiting Romeoville.  Dee Brown scored 12 points, and the Bengals used a big defensive effort in the fourth quarter to edge out the victory. 

Patch’s MVP: Straughter (10 points, 4 assists) scored six points in the second half and hit four crucial free throws in the final minute to help Plainfield East to the win.

Key Stats: Free throw shooting. Romeoville shot 7-for-13 from the charity stripe but missed two in the last 12 seconds that would have extended their lead. 

Romeoville Leaders:  Dejounte Lincoln (16 points), Nate Washington (14 points, 4 assists).

Plainfield East Leaders: Brown (12 points, 5 rebounds), Brian Bennet (13 points, 4 rebounds).

Quotable: “Tremendous effort against a team that’s playing really well. Our kids came out and really rose to the challenge and didn’t get the payoff. If they keep working like that, we’re going to get a payoff somewhere.” – Romeoville coach Jeff Bambule

 Quotable II: “They put us back on our heels. We typically put teams back on their heels. We finally turned it up in the fourth quarter, I think through our pressure. We got some big plays made, obviously the free throws at the end were big, so I think our defense really helped us.” – Plainfield East coach Branden Adkins

Team Records: Romeoville (6-17), Plainfield East (13-9)

What’s next: Romeoville plays host to Plainfield North on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Plainfield East, meanwhile, goes on the road to face Plainfield Central next Friday at 7 p.m.