Phoenix puts it away after Waddell exits

Englewood's Dominic Daniels and Rockie McCray block out North Lawndale's Jonathan Mills.
(Jack Gleason/For the Sun-Times)

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

The game between North Lawndale and Englewood was everything it was supposed to be, and then some.

North Lawndale rallied in the final minutes to escape with a 70-68 victory Friday night in the Class 2A Luther North sectional final.

Englewood led 66-59 with 2:31 to play when Thristian Crittle stole an inbound pass, made a layup and was fouled by Englewood center Nick Waddell (21 points, 10 rebounds). It was Waddell’s fifth foul.

With Waddell out of the game, North Lawndale sealed it with a 9-2 run.

‘‘That fifth foul on Waddell was big,’’ Englewood coach Lewis Adams said. ‘‘He’s the safety valve on our press and he does so many intangible things for us.’’

The key was rebounding. North Lawndale out-rebounded Englewood 38-22.

Jonathan Mills led the Phoenix (27-4) with 22 points and 23 rebounds, and Jermaine Winfield added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Zillijan Jones scored 13 and Crittle added 10.

‘‘I do whatever the team needs me to do.’’ Mills said. ‘‘Coach told me I had to hit the boards hard and he needed something extra. This was just a game of desire and hard work.’’

DeMarkus Isom-Jones led the Eagles (25-4) with a 26 points, including 23 in the second half. Ramone Robinson added 13 points.

North Lawndale coach Lewis Thorpe said the key was defense and taking better care of the ball, especially in the second half. The Phoenix defense forced 30 turnovers.

‘‘Our defensive intensity picked up as the game went on,’’ Thorpe said. ‘‘Mills and Winfield just crashed the boards, and we kept them off balance.’’