Boys Basketball: Defense powers Minooka past Plainfield Central

Updated: January 13, 2012 11:08PM

Minooka players had heavy hearts Friday night, dedicating the game to Mitch Fajman, a teammate who died during the summer.

The Indians forced 26 turnovers and got 12 points apiece from Jacob Hogen and Adam Reynolds in a 53-40 over visiting Plainfield Central in Southwest Prairie action.

“Our guys came out and did a nice job tonight,” Minooka coach Scott Tanaka said. “We were playing for Mitch tonight, so our guys didn’t want a letdown.”

The Indians were balanced offensively as Lavell Dean and Anthony Thomas added 10 and eight points, respectively. Zach Warner led the Wildcats with 11 points while Curtis Harrington had 10.

“I don’t think that we could have played as well as we could, but I give our kids a lot of credit for having a lot on their minds and coming out and winning the game,” Tanaka said.

Minooka (11-4, 4-1) led 11-10 after the first quarter. It was the Indians’ defensive intensity and long-range shooting that sparked their run in the second period. Thomas’ three-pointer gave Minooka a 16-10 lead with 6:30 left in the half. Later, Hogen’s trey extended the lead to 23-13 with just under four minutes until halftime.

“We all knew Mitch well and loved him, so we wanted to get him a ‘W’ tonight,” Hogen said.

Minooka led 27-17 at halftime on 10-of-23 shooting (4-of-8 three-pointers) while limiting Plainfield Central to 6-of-15 from the floor.

Warner’s trey drew the Wildcats to within 38-26 with 1:20 left in the third quarter, but they’d get no closer.

Central (5-10, 0-5) made several attempts to get back into the game, but Minooka would counter each momentum swing with a big play of its own and never allowed the Wildcats to cut the lead under nine points down the stretch.

“We just didn’t match their intensity tonight,” Central coach Steve Lamberti said. “The early turnovers just absolutely killed us.”

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