Boys Basketball: Riverside-Brookfield holds on to top Maine South

Updated: December 29, 2011 7:30PM

Damonta Henry had four steals against Maine South Thursday evening at the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic at York High School, but none was bigger than his theft of an inbounds pass in the closing seconds of the second overtime.

The junior guard converted his steal into a lay-up and turned what was a one-point game into a 53-50 victory in Elmhurst.

Nick Calabrese had an open look at a three-pointer at the buzzer for Maine South, but his attempt fell just short.

Henry did most of his damage in the second half, scoring 19 of his game high 23 points after the intermission. He knocked in all six of his attempts from the charity stripe, while adding three assists and five rebounds.

“(After the first overtime) I kind of put it all on my shoulders and told myself to ‘calm down, control my temper and not force anything’, and I knew I was going to get us the game,” Henry said. “For some reason all year I have been a second-half player. I get going in the second half when my team needs me and I answer for them.”

Junior guard Eric Loury also responded after the break for the Bulldogs. He scored all nine of his points in the second half and overtime, including scoring all five of R-B’s points in the first overtime.

Both teams let leads slip away in the second half to force the first extra session.

Maine South (7-5) led 27-18 midway through the third quarter following a Calabrese three-pointer.

The Bulldogs (8-4) responded with a 12-0 run that extended between the third and fourth periods, and took a 30-27 lead in the opening minute of the fourth after back to back three’s by Luke Nortier. The lead swelled to seven points for Riverside-Brookfield after a long-distance bucket by Henry with just under four minutes gone in the fourth.

After consecutive baskets by John Solari trimmed the Hawks deficit to 41-38 toward the end of the fourth quarter, Andrew Vey sent the game into overtime on a three-pointer with 36 seconds left.

Vey scored all five of Maine South’s points in the first extra session, including a rebound basket with seven ticks left and the Hawks trailing 46-44. The senior knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 15 points.

Solari also finished with 15 tallies for Maine South, while also grabbing 12 boards.

© 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.