Greene helps Thornton stay unbeaten

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:52AM

Thornton senior Brian Greene Jr. didn't have a great week of practice. He was still feeling the effects of a deep thigh bruise incurred during the McDipper tournament.

That didn't stop him from digging deep on Friday though, in the No. 4 Wildcats' 51-42 SouthWest Suburban Red victory over visiting Stagg.

Greene's back-to-back layups were part of an 8-0 run that Thornton used to finally shake loose from a Stagg team that had chances at pulling an upset.

Bernard Brame (12 points, five rebounds), Greene (10 points) and Stefan Beard (eight points) paced the Wildcats (13-0, 4-0), who stayed atop the SouthWest Suburban Red.

Stagg (10-4, 2-2) was led by Darius Draper (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Dan Ahern (13 points).

Stagg, showing at times an energy level that Thornton didn't match, used an early flurry by Draper to build as much as a five-point first quarter lead. Even after falling behind, the Chargers hung tough and trailed just 40-37 early in the fourth period.

But the Chargers failed to score on five consecutive possessions. Greene's layups capped an outburst by Thornton that included two other drives to the basket by DeChaun Williams and Antonio Levy.

"We came out slow," Greene said. "We had to pick up the intensity at the end and close out the game. If you want to be one of the best teams in Illinois, you have to avoid those letdowns."

Stagg missed seven second-half free throws.

"That hurts," Chargers coach John Daniels said. "And then, how many three foot shots did we miss because we were so worried about being fouled, we adjusted our shot?

"We missed an opportunity. I mean, this is Thornton. This is one of the greatest gyms in the state of Illinois. This is one of the greatest programs. This is Duke. We respected them, but we believed we could win. We missed it."

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