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Boys Basketball: Deontre Brown leads Plainfield East past TF North
Updated: November 25, 2011 6:39PM
Plainfield East can be forgiven if it wasn’t firing on all cylinders on Friday. The upstart Bengals started the season knocking off two ranked teams, firmly announcing themselves as a major force on the area basketball scene. A post-Thanksgiving hangover was understandable.
TF North on the other hand, came into the game desperate and hungry, having been dealt two losses to start the season.
In the end, it took a big final two minutes from senior guard Deontre Brown to but Plainfield East over the top. Brown scored six points in the final two minutes to lead the Bengals to a 66-60 win Friday at the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament.
“That’s what Dee can do,” said Plainfield East coach Branden Adkins. “He has the ability to put the team on his shoulders. He hit some big shots, and did it under control.”
Brown had a dunk and steal at the two minute mark to put the Bengals (3-0) ahead by 58-49. He got to the line twice after that and sank all four free throws, including two with nine seconds to play that sealed the win.
“We didn’t execute as well as we did in the first two games,” said Adkins. “They knocked down some wild shots and we didn’t make shots like we did in the past.”
Brown finished with 19 points and senior Mack Brown added 17 points. Center Brian Bennett, a 6-9 senior, added 13 points and five rebounds.
TF North starts five juniors and is clearly still working out the early season kinks. The Meteors had 21 turnovers, but there is clearly plenty of talent in the lineup.
“I can’t wait until we know what we are doing,” TF North coach Tim Bankston said.
Point guard Deland Deere singlehandedly kept the Meteors in the game in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points on drives to the basket and short jumpers. He finished with 18 points in the game, shooting 6 for 9 from the field.
Ashanti Randolph scored 16 and grabbed six rebounds for TF North. Torin Washington added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Plainfield East held on to win despite being outrebounded by TF North 31-25, largely due to 21 Meteors turnovers.
“That’s not something you see everyday,” Adkins said. “They did hit the borders harder then us, but we were able to make up for it by forcing some turnovers.”
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