Joliet's OT run wins tournament
By Drake Skleba
Lockport led its Southwest Suburban Blue rivals from Joliet 48-44 with 1:16 left in overtime in the championship game of the 2009 Plainfield North Holiday Tournament.
Joliet was like a cornered predator, at its most dangerous when backed up against a wall. The Steelmen closed the game with an 8-0 run and defeated Lockport 52-48.
Joliet senior 6-foot-6 guard Anthony "Shoe" Shoemaker ended the game on a steal and an emphatic slam to close out Lockport (6-4).
"For an 11:30 in the morning game in the middle of December, Lockport and Joliet brought out the competetive juices once again,"said Joliet head coach Luke Yaklich. "I'm very proud of our effort today and for the season thus far."
The story of the game was 5-foot-8 senior Steelman G Nyc Kilcoyne. He buried five treys, had a game-tying layup in the extra session, and finished with a career-high 17 points.
"Coach set up the play for me to keep hitting my shot," said Kilcoyne. "This is the first time I have ever been in double figures and it was great to help my team get this victory."
Yaklich added: "Nyc is an amazing story. Nyc was cut last season as a junior. Nobody has worked harder than he has, not only to return to the team, but to start as he did yesterday. Nyc was the star of the game for us today."
The first half was a tale of two quarters. Lockport opened up a 13-2 lead after one after Joliet missed its first eight shots. Lockport's hero from Friday, Harrington Ward hit a pair of jumpers and was a force on the boards in the early going.
Joliet, behind three Kilcoyne long-range bombs, outsored Lockport 19-9 in the second quarter. Kilcoyne's final trey of the quarter made the halftime score 22-21 in Lockport's favor.
With 7:31 left in the third quarter,Joliet took their first lead of the game, when a Shoemaker jumper gave the Steelmen a 23-22 lead. The Steelmen maintained their slim advantage with a 32-31 edge after three quarters.
Kilcoyne opened up the fourth quarter with hiS fifth ICBM to give the Steelmen a 35-31 lead. Lockport's senior G Dimonte Hopkins shot a trey in response.
Hopkins (13 points) scored seven fourth-quarter points to keep the Porters in the game.
Joliet led 42-40 with 1:09 left in regulation. But the Steelmen's delay game backfired with turnovers with 48 and six seconds left.
Lockport's Ward (12 point, seven rebounds) again displayed his flare for the dramatic. On Friday he hit the game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds left to against Benet Academy.
After Hopkins launched a shot that missed with six seconds left, Ward won the final flurry of regulation and tipped in the tying hoop, that went round-and-round the rim before it fell in at the buzzer.
After a brief discussion, the officials counted Ward's shot and the game went on.
With 1:16 in overtime, Hopkins hit an 18-footer that put Bolingbrook up 48-44.
Joliet's 5-foot-11 G Remy Roberts-Burnett (12 points) hit two charity tosses to start the Steelmen's game-winning eight-point run. Junior G Darius Norris came up with a steal and fed Kilcoyne for a game-tying layup.
Shoemaker had back-to-back steals in the final 11 seconds of the game. He nailed two free throws to give the Steelmen a 50-48 lead and then had another pick followed by a monster slam at the buzzer.
"I had to step it up on defense because my shots were not falling today," said Shoemaker. "Nyc Kilcoyne really helped us out today. He is a great shooter.
"This is great to win this championship. We suffered our only loss to Moline in their Thanksgiving tournament championship game. This was a great win against our rivals from Lockport. Coach and I were laughing about the fact that this was the second straight game I finished with a dunk against them."
Lockport's Ed Ward contributed 10 points and four rebounds for the runners-up.
"I thought my kids did a great job today," said Lockport coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. "I'm proud of the way the kids battled against a great team anda great player in Shoemaker."
Shoemaker, who scored six of the 10 Steelman points in the extra session, had another good night. He finished with 16 points, hauled down eight rebounds, had seven steals and a pair of blocked shots.
