Boys Basketball: Plainfield South’s fourth-quarter burst downs Waubonsie Valley
Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: May 9, 2012 10:11AM
As Tuesday’s nonconference tilt between Plainfield South and Waubonsie Valley wound its way towards halftime, it became clear the first team that found its mojo offensively would end up walking away with the game.
Two quarters later, that would be Plainfield South, which put up 44 points in the second half — including 32 in the fourth quarter — to roll to the 69-56 win.
After shooting just 10-for-31 (32 percent) in the first half on the way to a 25-21 lead at the break, the Cougars (8-7), shot just 14 times in the second half but made eight of them to go along with 23-for-28 shooting from the free throw line.
“We got a rhythm and hit a couple of shots,” Plainfield South coach Ken Bublitz said. “That shook the lid off the basket and I thought the kids gained some more confidence on offense. I thought we played with a lot of urgency and intensity.”
The shots the Cougars did hit were big, as three times in the second half the Warriors (12-5) cut the lead to two possessions only to see James Hill, Edvinas Presniakovas and Alonzo Garrett knock down big three-pointers that pushed the lead higher. Garrett’s trey with 5:36 to play pushed the lead into double digits for the first time and South was able to cruise from there.
“Those were big shots,” Bublitz said. “Our ability to finish at the foul line was also huge. Our guys stepped up and knocked down the foul shots and that made a big difference.”
Waubonsie, meanwhile, never got it going, shooting 37 percent (18-for-49) from the field. South’s defense had a little bit to do with that, but what also hurt the Warriors was an inability to finish at the basket. The Warriors missed several layups and short jumpers that might have made a difference.
“You have to give credit to them, they are a good team,” Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer said. “They were more physical and stronger than us at every position. For whatever reason, we were out of sync and they were the better team. We didn’t finish around the rim very well at all.”
Presniakovas led the Cougars with 25 points, while Garrett posted 15 and Hill 11.
Jared Brownridge scored a game-high 28 points for the Warriors and Bryan Jefferson tossed in 16.
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