Stay Connected with YourSeason
Boys Basketball: Third-quarter run gets Plainfield East past Plainfield Central
Updated: December 10, 2011 12:10AM
It looked as if Plainfield East would have an easy time of a district battle after it took an early lead over Plainfield Central. But the Bengals were locked in a close Southwest Prairie Conference game until a big run to close to the third period led to a 58-39 victory Friday night.
Host East scored the final seven points of the third period and first seven of the fourth to improve to 6-0, 2-0.
Central missed two free throws with a chance for the lead with 1:24 left in the third, and East responded with seven quick points over the last 65 seconds of the third.
“That was a big boost for us,” East coach Branden Adkins said. “I thought we played nonchalant at times. We have an ‘X’ on our chests right now, and our guys need to understand that.”
Deontre Brown turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play with 23 seconds left and what was a tight third period turned into a 39-33 lead. Brian Bennett (18 points) followed with a layup off a Brown feed before the period was over.
Mack Brown, who had a game-high 19 points, continued the hot stretch with a three-point basket then steal and layup to open the fourth.
The Bengals could not shake the Wildcats despite a 12-point first-half run in which Central (2-4, 0-2) missed 10 consecutive shots. Bennett had the last three baskets in the stretch that ended with East up 12-4.
“These guys fight,” Central coach Steve Lamberti said. “They’ve battled back from being down all year. But you can’t keep getting down eight, nine points to good teams. It takes a lot out of you to fight to get back in the game.”
© 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.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment