Pioneers hang on to beat rivals

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:16AM

When Clark guard Mario Herron went to the free-throw line 13 times in the final 12 minutes of Friday night's 119th Street rivalry, against Whiting, all the senior could think about was redeeming his last performance from the line.

In Clark's previous game, a close loss to Great Lakes Athletic Conference foe Hammond, Herron missed his share of free throws - and the Pioneers missed an opportunity to earn a share of the GLAC title.

Against the Oilers, Herron was almost automatic in overtime.

Herron sank seven of his eight free throws in overtime and canned three of five attempts in the fourth quarter, finishing with a game-high 15 points as Clark earned a thrilling 53-45 win over Whiting.

The victory was sweet revenge for the Pioneers (12-8, 4-2), avenging a loss against the Oilers in the second game of the season.

"I hurt my team against Hammond because I missed at least five free throws, and we lost by three," Herron said. "It's imperative that we make our free throws because they win games. This was a big win for us. We know that Whiting is a good team, but we wanted to prove that we can win big games."

Clark coach Joe Delgado praised Herron for his commitment to improvement.

"Mario was out the next day working on his free throws," Delgado said. "He takes his role as a senior leader seriously, and you can see that in the way he executed in clutch tonight. And it's big to have a senior point guard like Mario take control of the game for us. The leadership from (our) seniors has been a big factor with this team all season."

Four seniors contributed to a 7-0 run to start overtime. Jesus Resendez (11 points) started it with a basket, Devin Ellis had a layup, Herron converted two foul shots and Marcus Rameriez added a free throw.

"We didn't finish tonight, and that's all there is to it," Whiting coach Derrik Milenkoff said. "We fought back, so the kids showed heart, but the outcome wasn't what we wanted."

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