Boys Basketball: Jubril Adekoya helps Andrew stay perfect

Updated: January 6, 2012 11:54PM

Andrew entered its match-up with Lincoln-Way North coming off an impressive showing at the Kankakee Tournament, where it won the championship last week in the three-day event.

In their return to the court Friday night, the No. 5 Thunderbolts may have been suffering from a little holiday hangover, but they rode a late surge from star forward Jubril Adekoya for a 42-35 SouthWest Suburban Red victory in Frankfort.

“I think it was a very physically and mentally exhausting, that tournament — three games in three days,” Andrew coach Mike O’Halloran said. “Now the rest of the way, we’ve got to be ready because you’re only going to get one or two practices and then you play.”

Adekoya scored nine of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and had a pair of pivotal buckets down the stretch to key undefeated Andrew (10-0, 4-0).

The Thunderbolts used man-to-man defense to pressure North into turnovers on five of its first six possessions. The Phoenix didn’t get a shot off until nearly three minutes into the game.

“They’ll pressure you as soon as you step off the bus,” North coach John Terry said. “They’re on you in the bathroom, in the locker room; doesn’t matter where you go, they’re pressuring you. And I thought that was a tough thing for our kids to handle.”

A 6-0 run midway through the second quarter put North back within striking distance, and the Phoenix went into the locker room at halftime down 18-15.

The momentum carried over to the second half. Tre Lewis’ running 12-foot leaner gave North its first lead of the game three minutes into the third quarter.

But that basket touched off a 12-3 Andrew run over the next nine minutes, giving the Thunderbolts a double-digit lead before North came knocking again. The Phoenix (5-12, 1-3) rattled off nine unanswered points and pulled to within four on a pair of Cody Murphy free throws with 2:58 remaining.

Adekoya then took over. The 6-foot-6 junior attacked the basket and scored five points in the final three minutes. He also finished with 13 rebounds.

“He did a nice job,” O’Halloran said. “When it comes to the fourth quarter and crunch time, that’s when you need your big players to step up. And he stepped up tonight.”

Guard Glorind Lisha added 10 points for Andrew.

Daryle Morgan led the Phoenix with 11 points and Lewis had 10.

“We knew they were going to be prepared and they were going to play hard,” O’Halloran said. “They just came off being in the championship game at Lincoln-Way East and six of their losses are by one point. So you don’t just look at the record. You’ve got to look at the scores sometimes.”

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