Boys Basketball: Lincoln-Way Central showing ‘signs’

Updated: January 31, 2012 9:25PM

It would have been easy for Lincoln-Way Central coach Bob Curran to have a less-than-positive attitude last week after a 27-point loss to Homewood-Flossmoor.

Instead, Curran is looking on the bright side for the rest of this season and the future as the Knights work through another demanding SouthWest Suburban Blue schedule.

“We show signs,’’ Curran said. “I think our two sophomores have really helped out. They’re getting valuable minutes.’’

Lewis University-bound center Brad Foster and guard Johnny Finnin, the team’s senior leaders, are joined in the starting lineup by sophomores Brad Bass and Kevin Mampe, the latter of whom had 12 points against H-F. Senior Matt Doherty is the other starter.

“We appreciate all the effort and energy they have poured into the program,’’ Curran said of his seniors.

Juniors Matt Mikolajczak, Evan Panfil, Nick Kowalkowski and Ronnie Dunlop figure to be key players again next season for the Knights. The varsity roster also includes Kyle Carpenter, Nick Spindler, Joe Newtoff and Erich Eichwald.

Central (8-12, 1-6) played Bolingbrook on Tuesday and will face Joliet Central on Friday in back-to-back home games to start the second half of the conference season.

“We still have goals we’re trying to meet,’’ Curran said. “When you get to regional time, you never know what will happen.’’

In the Southwest Prairie

Top-ranked Plainfield East (17-1, 8-0), which played at Plainfield Central on Tuesday, can solidify its hold on first place Friday against visiting Minooka (15-6, 6-1).

“That’s going to be a big one because it was a real close one the first time,’’ Plainfield East guard Dee Brown said.

East held on to win 54-53 Dec. 16 at Minooka despite a 9-1 run by the Indians at the end of the game.

“They’re going to be coming into a hostile area, our home, our fans,’’ Brown said of the rematch. “It’s going to be a good one.’’

Plainfield South was an 84-66 loser Saturday to East, but guard Alonzo Garrett hit two three-pointers in the fourth quarter for a 50-46 victory Friday over Plainfield Central.

“He’s been a clutch shooter for us, especially down the stretch,’’ South coach Ken Bublitz said of Garrett. “Teams are going to pay attention to Eddie (Presniakovas), especially at the end.’’

Teams better overlook the record and pay attention against Plainfield Central (5-12), which nearly overcame an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit on the road against South.

“I’ve said it all year, we’re not going to give up, we keep fighting,’’ Central coach Steve Lamberti said. “We’ve lost so many games by three, four, five points. I feel bad for the kids. This is a good team. I’ve never seen a team with this kind of talent have such bad luck.’’

Andre Norris is averaging 13 points and 8 rebounds a game and Zach Warner almost 12 points, including a 37-of-109 showing on three-pointers. The future looks good for Central with point guard Curtis Harrington (7 ppg) and Mitch Young, both juniors, and 6-foot-4 sophomore Logan Velasquez.

© 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.