Gators oust Prairie Ridge

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The home fans were left holding their breath as stubborn Prairie Ridge lofted a potential game-winner in the final seconds.

But it wasn't to be for the upstart fifth-seeded Wolves, whose desperation attempt missed its mark and the fourth-seeded Gators survived with a thrilling 47-45 victory in the Crystal Lake South Regional opener Monday night.

The hosts advanced to the regional semifinals and earned the daunting task of facing top-seed Jacobs (24-2) Tuesday night. The FVC Valley champs beat the Gators (15-13) twice this season, but needed a late rally to escape with a 51-45 in the last meeting (Feb. 12).

South junior Eric Wilde (3 threes, 4-of-4 free throws) picked a fine time to break out of his shooting slump in the playoff opener. The 6-foot-5 swingman, who had struggled heading into the postseason, carried the Gators with 11 of his game-high 17 points in a blistering first-half performance.

That proved crucial when Prairie Ridge junior Bryan Bradshaw played out of his mind in the second quarter. The red-hot forward drilled 5-of-6 attempts from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, in scoring all 14 of his points in the frame.

A determined South club began to chip away in the third quarter. After a technical foul on senior guard Mike Ungari (team-high 15 points) led to three free throws for the Gators, Wilde's banker cut the deficit to one with just over four minutes to go in the period. He later found a cutting Steve Rogers (9 points) to even the contest at 32-32.

South, which trailed by as many as nine in the first half, took its first lead since early in the second quarter on a Wesley Evans (9 points, 6 rebounds) corner three with 1:38 remaining. A driving Ungari gave the methodical Wolves (6-23) a 39-37 edge to open the fourth before back-to-back baseline scoring drives by senior Mike Brockway (7 points) gave the Gators the lead for good with 3:21 to play.

However, feisty PR refused to make it easy on South, which saw its six-point deficit with just 1:07 remaining quickly evaporate on a Ungari bucket, a Bryan McGinn three-point play and a Ben Rippel free throw.

With South nursing a two point edge and 5.6 still on the clock, PR senior by Bryan McGinn (8 points) raced down Rippel's errant second free throw attempt and launched an off-balance three-pointer that went long as time expired.