Boys Basketball: Oswego uses second-half surge to down Plainfield Central

Sometimes the intermission comes at a perfect time for one team, and an inopportune time for the opponents.

The first few minutes of the second half proved to be decisive for Oswego, as the Panthers shook off a sluggish first half and defeated visiting Plainfield Central 76-62 Friday night.

It was the second victory this week for the Panthers, who beat crosstown rival Oswego East Tuesday night. In that game, Oswego spread the scoring and placed four players in double figures.

Against Plainfield Central, the balanced Panthers did one better, getting double-figure scoring efforts from five players (all juniors). And center Josh Oros, also a junior, came close to making it a sixth with eight points.

“We emphasize the importance of balance because it shows we’re playing together as a team,” said Oswego coach Kevin Schnable.

Despite getting contributions from a number of players, it was Elliot McGaughy’s night. He was simply outstanding, leading Oswego with 18 points. The 6-foot-2 guard filled up the stat sheet with nine rebounds, nine assists, and five steals.

McGaughy’s brilliant floor game came with the Wildcats’ standout center Andre Norris guarding him most of the night.

And he filled the role of point guard before Miles Simelton entered the game in the second quarter. It was McGaughy who ran the show most of the night. He was a primary reason why the Panthers committed a remarkably low five turnovers.

“I tried my best to get my teammates involved,” said McGaughy. “It was unusual having a 6-6 guy guarding me, but I just kept trying to play my game, going to the hole.”

Oswego (11-9, 5-4 Southwest Prairie) trailed 31-23 late in the first half before closing the half on a 9-4 run to pull within 35-32.

“It was a tale of two halves,” noted Schnable. “In the first half, they were outworking us and maximizing some mismatches. The roles reversed in the second half. We guarded, rebounded, and pushed the ball up the court.”

The momentum from Oswego’s late first-half flurry carried over to the second half. The Panthers scored the first 10 points of the third period to seize control. Simelton (12 points) got his first points of the game on a well-executed alley-oop pass from McGaughy on the first possession. The talented guards Simelton and McGaughy got all 10 points in the decisive run.

After Norris scored on a putback to stop the run, Danny Mangers and Thomas Wilder nailed three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to widen the lead to 48-37. Oros then scored three straight baskets, one on a feed from McGaughy, as Oswego finished the period up 56-45.

The Wildcats (5-14, 0-8) pulled within 56-49 early in the fourth period, but after a Panthers timeout, a three-point play by Darion Reddick helped the Panthers re-establish a comfortable lead.

Reddick had 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. Mangers had 12 points, nine in the first half to help keep his team within striking distance. Wilder, in his first game back from an injury, added 11 points.

Norris led Plainfield Central with 24 points, while 5-7 guard Curtis Harrington had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Panthers have another home game at 6 p.m. Saturday, a makeup contest against Romeoville.

Before the game, Oswego announced the second class of its hall of fame. This year’s inductees were Denise Berger, Lindsey Coakley, Teah Grant, Kristin Hamann, Matt Jernstad, Tad Keely, Marianne McDowell, Heather McEachern, Bobby Miller, Chad Niedert, Sandy Resner, Luke Rygh, Dane Shaw, Dean Shaw, Chris Silagi, Tim Silagi, Sean Staffeldt, Tim Staffeldt, Kari Ulbrich, Traci West, and Jason Whetzal. Also honored with the Ken Pickerill Award were Charles LaGow and Jack Milinovich.

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