Crete-Monee prevails despite slow first quarter

Updated: March 23, 2011 4:14PM

Moments after Eisenhower's Tyrone Terrell drained his third three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 29-28 lead early in the second quarter Tuesday night, night Crete-Monee coach Matt Ryndak called a timeout.

"I was just blowing off some steam," said Ryndak, who was visibly upset in the team huddle.

That would be the final lead of the game for No. 15 seed Eisenhower.

No. 2 seed Crete-Monee promptly went on a 21-5 run to end the quarter and eventually registered a resounding 107-65 victory in a semifinal of its own Class 4A regional.

Greg Mays led the way with 30 points and Jamee Crockett added 27. Many of the duo's baskets were of the high-percentage variety: crowd pleasing jams.

LaQuon Treadwell (15 points), Michael Orris (11) and Marvie Keith (11) all reached double digits for the Warriors (22-3).

"We showed real good discipline," Ryndak said. "We passed up some 3s and got the ball inside."

The pace was fast and furious right from the start, with the three-point-happy Cardinals on target early on. Eisenhower (14-14) buried six 3-pointers in the first quarter and trailed 23-20 after eight minutes.

The Cardinals, however, would make just seven treys rest of the game and finished 13 of 43 from beyond the arc.

Dustan Lewis had a team-high 27 points and Terrell added 20, many from beyond NBA-range.

"They made some 40-foot threes," Ryndak noted. "They were like a step-and-a-half inside halfcourt. But I told the kids they like to play fast, we want to play faster."

The Warriors were extremely efficient, converting 42 of 68 field-goal attempts. Crockett and Mays combined for 23 of the Crete-Monee's 32 points in the third quarter. That's when the Warriors turned a 50-36 halftime lead into an 82-56 advantage.

Bloom 41, Plainfield South 34: When William Nixon scored to cut Bloom's lead to 29-27 with just under four minutes to go in Tuesday's regional semifinal, it appeared as if Plainfield South was about to overcome another early deficit and pull out the victory.

At least, that's what South's loyal fans had hoped and expected.

But it wasn't meant to be on this night.

Thus, Plainfield South's record-setting season came to close with a 41-34 loss to Bloom Township at the Crete-Monee Regional.

Bloom advances to play Crete-Monee in the regional championship Friday.

The Cougars (20-8) were ice cold early on, registering just two points in the first quarter and trailed 17-4 with 4:08 left in the opening half.

"We had a slow start and they (Bloom) had a lot to do with that," South coach Ken Bublitz said. "They were tough defensively. We were just a little hesitant with our shots and couldn't get anything going early.

After trailing 19-9 at the break, South found its shooting touch and made a move in the third quarter.

Zach Snowden (13 points) hit a hoop to ignite the rally and John Collins buried a 3-pointer to trim the deficit to 21-18 heading into the fourth.

When Nixon's hoop cut the deficit to 29-27, the Cougars owned all the momentum inside the half-filled gym.

The Blazing Trojans (16-9), however, capitalized at the free-throw line, with Donald Moore (12 points) hitting four straight to open up a 34-27 lead with 2:33 to go.

"We had our chances in the fourth quarter but we just didn't capitalize," Bublitz said. "The kids had a great year."

Ed Presniakovas added 12 points and Darrell Collins eight for the Southwest Prairie Conference champions, who set a school record for wins in a season with 20.

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