TP_021617

50 | February 16, 2017 | The tinley junction sports
tinleyjunction.com
Boys Basketball
Krutilla’s 24 points not enough in Andrew loss
Frank Gogola
Freelance Reporter
Lincoln-Way Central’s
Chris Robinson was determined
to make his presence
felt this time.
When Central and Andrew
played earlier this season,
the junior guard missed the
game because of a family
issue. The Knights lost by
double digits.
In the rematch, he scored
or assisted on 30 points to
help Central beat Andrew,
67-58, on Feb. 7 in New
Lenox. Central (7-15; 5-4)
held Andrew (12-10; 4-4) to
fewer made 3-pointers and
free-throw attempts in the
rematch, and hit its own free
throws down the stretch to
seal the win.
“It was like I was running
off adrenaline [today] because
I knew my team needed
me last game,” Robinson
said. “I felt like I let them
down last game, so I had to
come through for them this
game.”
Robinson scored a teamhigh
19 points on 8-of-14
shooting after missing his
first three shots. He assisted
on five baskets after coming
in averaging one assist per
game. He added two steals.
Andrew’s Joey Krutilla
scored a game-high 24
points, but the Central defense
was improved from
the first meeting – a 79-65
Andrew win on Dec. 13 in
Tinley Park. Andrew was
6-of-14 on 3-pointers after
making double digits
the first game. Both teams
made 14 free throws in the
rematch – the Knights had
eight in the final 64 seconds
– after Andrew made 23 in
the first meeting to Central’s
11 attempts.
“We did what we needed
to do to win the game, and
that was to keep them off
the 3-point line and the freethrow
line and make them
score 2-pointers,” said Central
coach Bob Curran.
In the rematch, Andrew
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was without Evan Yerkes,
a 6-foot-2 shooting guard
who had been averaging 12
points per game and shooting
50 percent on 3-pointers.
Yerkes broke his foot in January
and is likely done for
the season, according to Andrew
coach David Wilson.
“He really spread the offense
for us,” Wilson said.
“His basketball IQ is off the
charts. Injuries are not an
excuse because everybody
deals with them, but he’s a
tough one to play without.”
His loss means other players
have had to and will need
to step up if the Thunderbolts
want to reach their goal
of winning a regional championship.
Against Central, it
was Troy Murphy and Carson
Meter, scoring 12 and
10 points, respectively. Mike
DeHaan had six points and
seven rebounds.
Central’s postseason outlook
has been slowly brightening
after rematch wins
over Lincoln-Way West and
Andrew. Robinson’s play
has improved as of late and
will be key heading into the
postseason. He came off the
bench in six of the first eight
games and has started in every
game since missing the
first game against Andrew.
“The last five games he’s
played really well,” Curran
said. “We’ve been talking
about him being a better
assist guy. We know he can
score the basketball, but he’s
got to get others involved.”
He did that early against
Andrew, dishing out assists
on three consecutive possessions.
Andrew led 12-11
after one quarter with nine
points from Krutilla.
After being held scoreless
in the first quarter, Robinson
scored four in the second
quarter, including a midrange
jumper in the closing
seconds of the seconds, as
Lincoln-Way Central’s Brian Ponton (left) and Andrew Hancock position themselves for a
rebound Feb. 7 during a game against Andrew in New Lenox. Photos by James Sanchez/22nd
Century Media
Central led 24-23 at the half.
He added eight in the third
quarter, and the Knights
led 43-38 heading into the
fourth.
Robinson hit a 3-pointer
and a jumper on back-toback
possessions to give
Central its biggest lead of
the game, 48-41, with 6:32
to play. Andrew responded
with an 8-0 run with scores
from four players to take a
49-48 lead, its first since 23-
22 late in the second quarter.
Not to be outdone, Central
responded with a 9-0
run started by a 3-pointer
by Aaron Michalak (12
points). Alex Kogut blocked
a Krutilla layup, which led
to an Andrew inbound pass
– thrown haphazardly into
the backcourt – that Robinson
stole. He grabbed the
ball and quickly shot from
seemingly too close under
the basket, but the ball went
in after bouncing around the
run.
“I thought it was going
out,” Robinson said. “I was
Guard Bryan Ross takes the ball up court to start a fastbreak.
like, ‘No!’”
“That’s absolutely huge
because you give a team that
didn’t have momentum, you
give them momentum,” Wilson
said.
Robinson assisted on
two layups by Joe DiNaso
(eight points), and Central
led 59-53 when Robinson
missed the front-end of a
1-and-1. The Thunderbolts
rebounded, and Krutilla hit a
3-pointer to pull them within
59-56 with 1:10 to play.
From there, Central made
8-of-10 free throws, most of
which came from intentional
fouls by Andrew, to seal the
game.
Bryan Ross scored nine
points for Central. Andrew
Hancock chipped in seven
with two baskets coming off
two slick post moves in the
first quarter.