Phoenix rises up to stun Thornton

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:50AM

DeAngelo Thigpen made his 18th birthday a very public affair and spectacular celebration.

The senior North Lawndale guard scored 12 points and hit a runner in the lane with two seconds remaining Phoenix stunned No. 4 Thornton 55-53 in double overtime in the Bob Hambric Shootout at T.F. North Sunday.

Thornton (13-1) called a timeout with 1.2 seconds remaining and coach Troy Jackson thought he had one more timeout left. After the Wildcats advanced the ball to halfcourt, Jackson called another timeout. But the officials assessed a technical foul after determining the Wildcats were out of timeouts.

Thigpen missed both free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining. Thornton's Jay Parker stole the inbounds pass. His 65-foot shot hit the underside of the rim.

Thigpen was the star of the second overtime. He scored all six of the Phoenix‘s points after neither team scored in the first overtime.

His three-pointer put the Phoenix up 52-51 after Antonio Levy gave Thornton its only lead after halftime, 51-49, on a 14-foot jumper.

"I guess this is my own present for me," said Thigpen, whose free throw with 31.2 seconds left made it 53-51.

Levy converted two free throws with 15.7 seconds remaining to forge the game‘s final tie at 53.

Thigpen isolated at the top of the key and drove into the middle of the of Thornton defense. "We wanted to take the last shot," Thigpen said. "Coach [Lewis Thorpe] said that there was nobody on their team that could stick me and just take it hard to the hole."

North Lawndale guard Davonte Jones (11 points) hit two three-pointers to stake the Phoenix to a 16-9 lead after the first quarter. His three-pointer extend his team's lead to 27-19 at the break.

Behind the strong interior play of Maurice Williams (13 points, nine rebounds), the Phoenix (9-6) held a 10-point advantage (35-25) midway through the third quarter.

Thornton senior guard Dimitrius Hardwick (17 points) scored the Wildcats' next 11 points to spark the comeback. Senior guard Brian Greene Jr. hit a floater with 2:37 remaining in regulation to forge the first tie of the second half at 49.

"Give credit to North Lawndale for the [win], but we didn't come out focused or mentally ready to play," Greene Jr. said.

T.F. North 41, Leo 29: The host Meteors took advantage of the absence of Leo's top scorer, Paul Beene, who was out serving a school-related suspension. No T.F. North scorer reached double figures, but eight different players scored. Junior Sylvester Tolliver scored five of his eight points in the fourth quarter.

Up 30-21 after the third quarter, the Meteors put the game away by scoring the first eight points of the fourth quarter. Montero Rice added eight points for the Meteors (8-3). Senior guard Deandre Lowery contributed seven points.

Leo's second-leading scorer, Maurice Joiner, was withheld from the starting lineup as well and he finished with six points. Sophomore center Russell Woods scored eight points and added five rebounds and two blocks for the Lions (10-4)

Hyde Park 70, Decatur MacArthur 51: Sophomore guard Kyle Davis scored 27 points and recorded six steals to power the Thunderbirds (12-3). Davis scored 10 points in the first quarter to stake Hyde Park to a 24-11 advantage. Senior forward Aqui Shareef (14 points, nine rebounds) scored 14 in the first half to power the Thunderbirds to a 42-22 lead at the break. Darren Gray scored 17 points for the Generals (2-11).

Harlan 74, Richards 73: The Falcons (7-9) prevailed behind senior forward Shaquille Hines, who scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Deonte Johnson added 17 points. Dominique Gaddis scored 28 points and Jovone Shorter contributed 17 points for the Bulldogs (5-9).

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