Lincoln-Way West wins it at the line

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:36AM

Early Friday night, Lincoln-Way West was awful at the free-throw line. Down the stretch, though, the Warriors were awfully clutch.

Mike Marotta hit two free throws with 3.5 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and Robert Hubbard knocked down five free throws in the extra session to lift West to a 65-61 SouthWest Suburban Red win over Thornridge in New Lenox.

Trailing 55-53 in the final seconds, the Warriors (5-15, 2-5) set up a play for T.J. Dikos (19 points). He missed an open trey, but Marotta (11 points, nine rebounds) got the rebound, was fouled and calmly sank both shots.

"That was so clutch," West coach Eric Long said. "For a senior to do that is huge."

Hubbard (18 points) was everywhere in overtime, scoring seven points. Twice he came up with steals, was fouled, and hit both free throws.

Thornridge (7-11, 2-5) was hurt by four overtime turnovers as the Warriors' defense stepped up to earn a second straight conference win after 19 straight conference losses going back to last year.

After going 3-for-11 from the line in the first half, West was 13-for-16 in the second half and 6-for-10 in overtime.

"We kind of got into our groove," Hubbard said.

Mike Lagger had seven points, six assists and six steals for West.

Sinclair Stevenson (15 points, 12 rebounds) and William Stevenson (12 points) led the Falcons.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.