FS_122817

36 | December 28, 2017 | The frankfort station sports
frankfortstation.com
Boys basketball
East boys basketball team edges Central on the court
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
The old saying says "bigtime
players hit big-time
shots in big-time games."
In a big-time game the
Lincoln-Way East boys
basketball team had a pair
of players do just that. Joey
Buggemi scored 10 points in
the third quarter and fellow
senior guard Zach Parduhn
matched him with 10 points
in the fourth quarter as the
Griffins rallied in the second
half for a 55-50 win over
Lincoln-Way Central before
a packed house in a District
210 tussle on Friday, Dec. 22
in New Lenox.
The third of the Griffin trio
of senior guards, Sam Shafer,
finished with 14 points and
nine rebounds as East (7-2)
won its second straight close
game after suffering backto-back
losses. The Knights
(4-6) were coming off a nice
rally victory over Minooka,
but fell just short down the
stretch against East.
"It felt pretty good," Parduhn
said. "Things weren't
clicking for me at the beginning
of the game. I just kind
of kept my head, and finally
in the fourth quarter when
it mattered, I stuck with it
and battled through it. I got
it done.
"It's bragging rights too. A
lot of those guys we played
with as freshmen and sophomores,
so it means a lot to
beat those guys."
Anytime the Knights got
close down the stretch, there
was Parduhn. He hit a pair
of jumpers to start the fourth
quarter and then things
looked good for the Griffins
when junior guard Tyler
Vaundry hit a 3-pointer midway
through the period for a
49-42 lead. Those were the
only East points not scored
by Parduhn in the fourth
quarter.
East's Joey Buggemi goes on the defense while Central's Nathan Purcell dribbles the ball.
But trailing 49-44 Central
rallied as recently brought up
twin freshmen guards Mike
Maloney (10 points) and
Matt Maloney (6 points) hit
a pair of 3-pointers around a
Parduhn jumper. That closed
the score to 51-50 with 49
seconds to play in the game.
Parduhn, who scored all
12 of his points in the second
half, knocked down a
pair of free throws with 31.3
seconds to play to restore
the lead to three. Following
a time out, Central senior
guard Chris Robinson, who
had a team-high 14 points,
was just long on a potential
game-tying 3-pointer from
the top of the key. Shafer
grabbed the rebound and
got it ahead to Parduhn, who
was fouled and made the
game clinching free throws
with 2.8 seconds to play.
"He's our floor general,"
East coach Rich Kolimas
said of Parduhn. "This is his
third year on the varsity, so
he's capable of making those
shots down the stretch. We
set a lot of ball screens for
him and he had a lot of open
looks. He knocked them
down.
"Forget the records. We
all know each other. It was
a good battle, a close game.
We just took away their dribble
penetration."
Central led 26-23 at halftime
and 28-25 with 6:35
left in the third quarter. Then
Parduhn scored his initial
basket, Buggemi (14 points)
scored six straight and Shafer
converted an old-fashioned
3-point play in an 11-0
run that gave the Griffins,
who were coming off a 53-
51 win at Lyons Township
on Saturday, Dec. 16, the
lead for good.
"We switched to a 1-2-2
and that gave them troubles,"
Buggemi said of what
opened up the third quarter
spurt. "We were jumping the
passing lanes, and it got us
some easy buckets in transition.
Putting pressure on
them, not letting them put
pressure on us, not letting
them pass over us, not letting
them finish.
"We've been rivals with
[Central] since North closed.
Me, Sam, and Zach have
been together for three years
and we wanted this win."
With the Knights back
within 36-34, junior center
Alex Witkowski scored on a
layup and Buggemi banged
home back-to-back baskets
in a 6-0 run. East led 42-36
after three.
Although the first half was
close throughout, there was
only one tie (4-4), an two
lead changes. A Robinson
3-pointer gave the Knights
the lead at 6-4 with 2:41
left in the first quarter. They
never trailed the rest of the
half and led 8-6 after the first
quarter.
A Mike Maloney 3-pointer
gave Central its largest lead
at 21-15 with 3:24 left in the
first half. Junior guard Julian
Barr buried a 3-pointer with
just over a minute left in the
half to close East within 25-
23, but a Robinson basket
restored the lead to three at
intermission.
Junior guard Nathan Purcell
and senior forward Andrew
Hancock (7 rebounds)
each added seven points for
the Knights.
"We told 'em at halftime
they were going to switch
defenses, and we were prepared
for it," Central coach
Bob Curran said. "The kids
just didn't make plays. But
they put forth effort to get
into the passing lanes. And
East's Zach Parduhn shoots the ball while Central's Chris
Robinson attempts to block the shot Friday, Dec. 22.
Photos by Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
Parduhn had a great fourth
quarter."
Central's previous game
was a 44-42 home victory
on Saturday, Dec. 16 over
Minooka. The Knights were
down to 28-9 at the half,
but rallied to win. Robinson
led the way with 11 points,
senior guard Luke Handley
added 10 points and senior
forward EJ Charles (8
points) scored an old-fashioned
3-point play with four
seconds left in the game for
the winning points.
The Knights have been
without starting point guard,
Sean Curran - Bob's son -
with a left ankle injury that
happened in a 52-51 loss on
Dec. 6 at Illina Christian.
They hope he can return
soon, but moves like bringing
up the Maloney twins
should pay dividends for the
team.
"We're still trying to figure
this team out," coach Curran
said. "But we're playing better
and these things will only
help us down the road."
This week, on Thursday,
Dec. 28 and Friday, Dec. 29,
the Griffins travel downstate
to play at the Effingham -
Teutopolis Christmas Classic.
Central is at the Maine
East Holiday Tournament,
which starts on Wednesday,
Dec. 27and goes through
Saturday, Dec. 30.