Boys Basketball: Lockport edges out Lincoln-Way North

Updated: December 13, 2011 9:00PM

No music. No cheerleaders. No pregame hoopla. Just basketball.

Amid the squeak of gym shoes stopping and starting on the hardwood Tuesday night, Lockport earned a 44-43 victory over Lincoln-Way North in the opener of the five-day Plainfield North Holiday Round Robin.

“With no music, you’ve just got to motivate yourself,’’ Lockport’s Kyle Ward said. “No crowd, no cheerleaders. You’ve got to motivate yourself and be ready to play.’’

Ward was ready near the end when his pass found Billy Reed cutting to the basket for a layup with 12 seconds to play that provided the final points.

“I knew they were looking for a shot, so if anybody would cut he’d be open because everybody was watching the ball,’’ Ward said. “I just made the pass. I told him in the huddle, if you cut you’re going to be open.’’

“He (Ward) was intelligent to know what all the options are when he came off the screen,’’ Lockport coach Lawrence Thompson said. “He realized they were playing for the jump shot so he dumped it down and Billy was ready for it.’’

Ward also rebounded a missed free throw with five seconds left and was able to get the ball to halfcourt and run out the clock.

Lockport (4-3) ended a three-game losing streak and had nine players make the scoresheet, led by Ward (10 points), Courtney Cole (8 points) and Dexter Taylor (6 points). Swingman Tom Hook contributed a couple of hustle plays off the bench.

“The consistency has to come because it takes mental toughness to play this right,’’ Thompson said. “We’ll have lapses where we’re not as mentally tough as we should be, but they play hard.’’

Lockport put together a 16-point third quarter after a 15-all tie at halftime.

“I told them if we could find a way to combine second-half offense with first-half defense, we’ll have a pretty good game,’’ Thompson said. “In the second half the ball was moving quicker, less dribbling.’’

“The first half we struggled but the second half we came together,’’ Ward said. “If we can keep that up, we can win a lot of games.’’

Forward Daryle Morgan gave Lincoln-Way North (2-6) a 43-42 lead on two free throws with 23 seconds left.

“I’m getting sick of saying the same thing at the end of the game — ‘You guys are right there,’ ’’ North coach John Terry said. “We just need to turn the corner now.’’

Morgan had a game-high 20 points and Cody Murphy contributed 12 points.

In the second game, Shamond Kemp scored 19 points and Anthony Perkins 14 to lead Rich East to a 74-61 victory over Plainfield North. Raheem Jackson and Ronald Lawton each had 13 points for the Rockets.

Kendal Interial scored 17 points for Plainfield North.

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