Will call: Sullivan, York stun Foreman

York players celebrate in the final seconds of their upset win over Foreman.
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times News Group)

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Will Sullivan burst through York’s locker room doors and was greeted with an ovation from his teammates on Wednesday.

Either the celebration was for the four stacked pizzas in his arms or the 32 points he had just scored.

Likely, it was the points.

Behind a career night from the York sophomore, the 12th-seeded Dukes upset fifth-seeded Foreman 63-53 in overtime to advance to the York Regional championship game.

York will meet top-seeded Morton on Friday.

“Coming out against a talented team like this, I knew I had to be aggressive,” said Sullivan, whose previous high was 24. “We knew they were going to overplay us. Only the people on this team believed we could win this.”

Sullivan did save his best for his last. He scored 11 points in the overtime period as York out-scored the Hornets 17-7 in the four-minute quarter.

“Will’s a special player,” said York coach Al Biancalana, whose team improved to 14-12. “They have a lot of talent, but I think No. 3 in green was the best player.”

Foreman’s talent looked as if it was going to run away with the game early. The Hornets (19-7) jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held the Dukes to two points over the game’s opening four and half a minutes.

The second quarter was where York fought back and began to believe it had a chance. With around five minutes remaining in the period and Foreman up 16-12, Hornets coach Terry Head told his team to bring out the ball and hold it.

Biancalana knew Head was trying to force the Dukes out of their zone, but he wasn’t biting. It was actually what York wanted.

“That allowed us to shorten the game,” Biancalana said.

The strategy backfired. Foreman missed its shot attempt with under 10 seconds left in the half, and York’s Tom Roth grabbed the rebound and got the ball to Sullivan. His running shot from a few feet out was goaltended by Foreman at the buzzer. Outscoring Foreman 4-2 in the quarter and down just by two at halftime, York’s bench, including Biancalana, jumped out on the court and met everyone with hi-fives.

“I’m Italian,” Biancalana said. “We’re an emotional team. That’s how we’ve been all year. You got to have fun out there.”

York opened the third quarter on a 5-0 run and extended its lead to 30-22 later in the quarter. Foreman wasn’t going down easy, though. The Hornets came buzzing back in the fourth quarter and went ahead 38-37. From there, the teams went back and forth. The quarter included five ties and five lead changes. At the end of eight minutes, they were tied at 46-46.

Kevin Kahovec (nine points) and Tom Roth (eight points, five rebounds) contributed for York.

Lavonte Dority (16 points), Mike McCall (11 points), and Tommy Woolridge (10 points, seven rebounds) led Foreman.

The Hornets out-rebounded York 28-19. Foreman grabbed 19 offensive rebounds.

Head talked to his team for nearly an hour in its locker room after the loss.