De La Salle cruises past Lane; York wins

Updated: March 23, 2011 4:12PM

Alex Foster's 10 points in the first half was more than Lane Tech's leading scorer for the entire game in De La Salle's playoff opener Tuesday night.

Foster, the Meteors' 6-foot-7 sophomore, finished with 13 points to join three other De La Salle starters in double figures scoring. No. 3-ranked and top-seeded De La Salle routed 15th-seeded Lane 78-38 in the Class 4A Oak Park Regional semifinal.

The Meteors (21-2) won their eighth consecutive game, but fell behind 8-4 with 4:31 in the first quarter after Sadzid Grahic scored on a 15-foot jumper for the Indians (8-12).

De La Salle answered with a 26-2 run and held Lane without a basket for 11:29 in the first half. Foster (six rebounds) scored the first basket in the game, but made the rest of his first-half baskets during the run.

"I believe if we play like this in every game, we'll have no problem going Downstate," Foster said.

Alvin Ellis (five rebounds) led the Meteors with 15 points, 10 in the fourth quarter. Dre Henley (five rebounds) scored nine of his 14 points in the third quarter while Illinois-bound Mike Shaw (five rebounds) added 13 points.

De La Salle will play eighth-seeded York (19-8) or ninth-seeded Oak Park (10-12) in the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Eric Butler led Lane with nine points. The Indians shot 1 of 10 from the floor in the second quarter and trailed 32-14 at halftime. Lane's only basket in the second quarter came on Ivelin Roussev's rebound and layup with 38.6 seconds to go before halftime.

York 67, Oak Park 52: David Cohn was a nemesis again for Oak Park-River Forest.

York's sophomore guard has been a nightmare the past week for the Huskies. Cohn scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Dukes to a victory in the second regional semifinal.

It was the third meeting of the season between the West Suburban Silver rivals and the second game in five days as the teams played back-to-back contests.

It was Cohn all over again in the rematch. Cohn scored 23 points against Oak Park in a 66-56 win Feb. 24, which ended the regular season.

"I just look to step up and do what I can," Cohn said. "Really, I have (open) looks because everyone is worried about Will (Sullivan) and Cody (Kliethermes) can shoot the heck out of the ball."

Cohn shot 7-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He scored 10 points in the first half and added six more in the third quarter when the Huskies scored only eight points as a team.

The ninth-seeded Huskies (10-13) also lost to eighth-seeded York (20-8) 68-66 on Jan. 22. Oak Park lost its sixth consecutive game to end the season.

Junior center Gabe Levin (seven rebounds) scored 10 of his team-high 14 points in the first half, but made just one basket in the second half for the Huskies. Ka'Darryl Bell had 13 points and Jakari Cammon added 10.

Kliethermes scored 13 points, including four three-pointers, and put the Dukes ahead 56-45 with 4:12 remaining in the game by converting a four-point play when he was fouled by Cammon on his final three-pointers. Sullivan (nine rebounds), York's career scoring leader, was held to 12 points.

York opened a 7-0 lead when the Huskies missed their first four shots to begin the game. The Dukes led 13-4 before Oak Park went on a 11-2 run to tie the game for the first of six times in the first half.

Oak Park took its only lead in the game in the third quarter by scoring the first five points after halftime. Senior Brian Miller opened the second half with a layup, but the Huskies missed their remaining seven shots in the quarter.

York led 48-41 to end the third quarter after leading 35-33 at halftime.

The Dukes play top-seeded De La Salle (21-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the regional final.

Senior starters Josh Lang, Brian Miller and Steve Ramsey played their final games for the Huskies. The trio combined for 11 points, led by Lang's five.

"I'm proud of how our guys played. They battled at the end," OPRF coach Matt Maloney said. "I'm especially proud of the seniors, following a 22-6 team. They had limited experience. We have two starters and some sophomores coming back. I'm excited about where we'll be in the future."

Lang transferred to Oak Park from Providence-St. Mel after his sophomore season.

"It was my last game. It was a big disappointment, but you can't really change it," Lang said. "I did (like it here). I will miss these guys. I love them, but I wish it turned out differently."

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