Boys Basketball: Lincoln-Way Central advances past Bremen

Updated: November 23, 2011 7:19PM

Championships have been few and far between for the Lincoln-Way Central basketball team of late.

After improving to 3-0 with a 58-50 win over Bremen on Wednesday at Lincoln-Way West, the Knights moved within one victory of the Pheast of the Phoenix title.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since we were 3-0,” said Brad Foster, who led the Knights with 17 points and 10 rebounds, “and I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve won a tournament, so that’d be great for us. We’re off to a good start.”

Bremen (0-3) led 33-32 midway through the third when Central took control with a flurry of three-point plays, both old-fashioned and new.

There were five of them during a 15-3 run as Joe Newtoff and Kyle Carpenter (8 points) hit from outside and Foster, Brad Bass (8 points) and Johnny Finnin (13 points, 5 rebounds) each converted an inside basket and a free throw.

“I asked the kids at halftime what they wanted to do, and they said ‘Let’s go get them’,” Central coach Bob Curran said. “We picked up our pressure and that made a big difference. These weren’t the three prettiest wins, but no one’s going to ask how it’s getting done.”

Central, which was 12-17 last season, can capture the title of the round-robin tournament with a win Friday over T.F. South.

The Knights got into foul trouble early, with three starters picking up two fouls each in the first six minutes. Foster went to the bench with his third midway through the second.

The Braves led 28-26 at the half, riding the back of Cedric Clemons (24 points, 6 rebounds). But the Knights hung tough without Foster, setting the stage for their third-quarter flurry.

“We’re going to need more people to step up during the season,” Foster said. “It’s good to know we can count on them.”

Matt Mikolajczak added seven points for Central. Devonta Wilson had seven for Bremen.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.