Thornton holds on over Shepard

Updated: March 23, 2011 4:17PM

Thornton outlasted a feisty Shepard squad for a 63-58 win Tuesday night in a Class 4A Lincoln-Way North Regional semifinal.

Although the Astros never led, the Wildcats' first step in a quest for a ninth straight regional championship was not a graceful one.

"We have to play smarter," Thornton coach Troy Jackson said after his team improved to 24-2. "We have to do what we do better."

Thornton will face the winner of Wednesday's Lincoln-Way East-Sandburg game in Friday's regional championship.

The Wildcats led 26-9 after one quarter behind eight points each from Antonio Levy and Stefan Beard (13 points) and six points from Jay Parker (14 points).

The Wildcats went 2 of 9 from the field and turned the ball over six times in the second quarter. Shepard used a 13-3 run in the second to make it 32-22 at the break.

Thornton entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead, but Shepard (13-15) would not go down easily. A three-pointer by Martece Weatherspoon (24 points) made it 57-52 Wildcats with 1:28 remaining, but the Wildcats would shut the door from the free-throw line, hitting five of their last six attempts.

"We came out playing our type of game," Parker said. "We need to try to get back the intensity we had in the first half for next game. We know we can play way better than this."

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