Lisha pushes Andrew past Thornridge

Updated: March 23, 2011 4:04PM

With his teammates struggling to get going in the first half Monday, Andrew's Glorind Lisha kept his team afloat. Then the rest of the Thunderbolts got going.

Leading 21-20 at the half thanks to Lisha's 11 points, Andrew opened the third quarter on an 18-2 run to pull away for good and earn a 49-42 victory over Thornridge in a Class 4A Stagg Regional quarterfinal.

"It was anybody's game after the first half," Andrew coach Mike O'Halloran said. "We talked about turning up the pressure defensively and that was probably the best three minutes to start a half we've played all year."

Lisha finished with 17 points and Tyler Hook added eight for the T-bolts (15-10), who will meet Stagg in a semifinal today.

Lisha and Mike Bobek started the second-half surge with inside baskets. Hook followed with a three-point play and Alex Zappavigna drained a trey. By the time Bobek knocked down two free throws, it was 33-20.

Thornridge (7-19) did not get within single digits again until the final minute.

In the first half, Lisha hit three 3-pointers to keep Andrew ahead despite going 7-of-18 from the field and turning the ball over seven times.

"I knew when I hit the first one, I could hit some more," Lisha said. "We're really excited to play Stagg."

The T-Bolts and Chargers split two regular-season meetings.

Jubril Adekoya added seven points and six rebounds for Andrew.

William Stephenson (12 points) and Javon Kay (10 points) paced Thornridge.

Lincoln-Way Central 45, Joliet Central 30: Leading 24-20 at half, Lincoln-Way Central (12-18) outscored Joliet Central (7-18) 7-0 over the first seven minutes of the third quarter to take control and advance to today's semifinal against Lockport.

Brad Foster had 10 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots for the Knights and Evan Branyik added 11 points, including seven fourth-quarter free throws.

The Knights led 15-4 after the first quarter.

"We wanted to jump on them early," Foster said. "We had great ball movement and got our high-low game going."

Johnny Finnin (9 points) opened the third quarter with a trey to spark the 7-0 start and the Knights scored all 14 of their fourth-quarter points at the line, going 14-of-16 to swal the win.

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