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lockportlegend.com sports
the Lockport Legend | February 7, 2019 | 37
Boys Basketball
Porters show resiliency, but fall to Raiders
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
For the first 15 minutes of
last weekend’s showdown
with state-ranked Bolingbrook,
things were not going
well for the Lockport Township
boys basketball team.
The Porters, who were
coming off a pair of subpar
performances the week before,
were getting shellacked
by nearly 30 points. But senior
Aaron Grcevic kept the
faith and kept the energy
up. While Lockport didn't
complete a huge comeback,
it shaved 19 points off the
deficit in a little more than
10 minutes before eventually
falling to the Raiders by a
score of 77-63 in a SouthWest
Suburban Conference Blue
Division matchup on Friday,
Feb. 1, at Bolingbrook.
With the win, Bolingbrook
(15-6, 4-1) ended a
three-game losing streak.
The Porters (11-8, 2-3) lost
for the third straight game
but looked to be back to being
the team that they had
been the first two months of
the season in the second half.
That was in part thanks
to a spark from a couple of
bench players, especially
Grcevic.
"Aaron always does that,"
Lockport coach Brett Hespell
said of the guard coming
in and giving the team
a boost. "He's a leader out
there."
Lockport trailed 42-13
when senior post player Kameron
Leonard (5 points, 6
rebounds) hit the second of
two free throws with 1:04
to play in the first half. The
wrestling
From Page 39
Porters were looking miserable
and had only scored one
basket in the previous nine
minutes. But undaunted junior
guard Tim DiCristofano
nailed a 3-pointer with 45
seconds to play in the half.
Just 28 seconds later,
Grcevic did the same thing,
as he swished a trey. Then,
with the 'Brook holding
for the final shot, Grcevic
swooped in and got a steal.
He then sped down and converted
a perfectly timed layup
that went in as the buzzer
sounded and Lockport cut
the nearly 30-point deficit to
42-21. But the 5-foot-5 inch
Grcevic wasn't done. Being
at least five inches shorter
than any of the Raider
guards, he fearlessly pulled
up from 3-feet beyond the
top of the key and drained
another 3-pointer to open the
third quarter.
While those would be
the last points for Grcevic
(season-high 8 points) he
had provided a spark. All
of a sudden the deficit was
under 20, the Porter fans
in the crowd were stirring
and the confidence that had
been missing in the team for
nearly two-and-a-half games
returned.
"I always have to stay
ready and always have to
be ready to step in there,"
Grcevic said. "Mentally and
physically you have to be
ready to step up and stay
confident. We needed something
to get going, to build
off of. We did that in the
third quarter and got some
good things going.
"This is a good step for-
both finished third.
McCormack (24-19) lost
his first match in the quarterfinals
against Palmer but battled
back for three straight wins.
After two pins, he ran into
Palmer again in the third-place
match and got revenge when
it really mattered, recording a
ward and now we've got
to get better every game.
There's no quit in this team."
An 11-5 burst at the end of
the third quarter drew Lockport
within 53-38 after three.
Then, a 7-2 spurt opened
the fourth quarter. That was
capped on a 3-pointer by
Matt Hatzopoulos which
made the score 55-45 with
6:36 to play in the game. It
also capped a 32-13 stretch
for the Porters in just over 10
minutes.
But it wouldn't get any
closer than 10 points as the
Raiders started displaying
the talent that still makes
them the best team in the conference.
Senior guard Tyler
Cochran (12 points) scored
seven points as Bolingbrook
scored as many points as it
had in that 10 minute stretch
(13) in the next 2:30 span to
go ahead 68-50 with 3:45 to
play in the game. Lockport
never got closer than the final
score.
"You've got to give Brett
and his kids credit," Bolingbrook
coach Rob Brost said
of Hespell and the Porters.
"We knew they were a much
better team than the [first
half] score indicated. We
knew the second half would
be different. But if you
would have told me before
the game that we'd win 77-
63, I'd have taken it."
Bolingbrook's scoring
came from everywhere. Junior
guard Darius Burford
(19 points) led the way, Joseph
Yesufu (16 points) and
fellow senior guard Jordan
Myrick (9 points) along with
senior forward Tyrique Mc-
15-9 win.
Pasowisty (28-16), meanwhile,
was pinned by Landando
in the quarterfinals and
also had to win three straight
do-or-die matches.
Murrin (11 points) rounded
out five players with nine or
more points.
Hatzopoulos (15 points)
and fellow senior guard Jacob
Karli (13 points), scored
all of their points in the second
half to pace the Porters.
Senior post player Tommy
Halatek (12 points) and senior
guard Quinn Gardner (7
points) also contributed.
Lockport had early leads
of 2-0 and 4-3. The Raiders
led 12-8 with 1:59 left
in the first quarter and then
embarked on a 25-2 blitz for
37-10 lead with 3:13 left in
the first half. The advantage
eventually grew to 29 at 42-
13.
"Playing one of the best
teams in the state, we can't
come out and question ourselves,"
Hespell said. "Why
we came out [to start] and
played like we had something
to lose is a mystery to
me."
But Hespell was much
happier with his team's performance
in the second half.
"The team that we saw
in the second half was the
team that took Simeon to the
wire, Danville to the wire,"
he said. "The team that
played last week, the team
that played in the first half,
I don't know. Hopefully, in
the second half, we started
to find ourselves a little bit."
Earlier in the week, frigid
temperatures on Jan. 29
postponed the Porters game
at Joliet Central. The hope
to make up the matchup
with former coach Lawrence
Thompson, Jr. but no date
had been set.
He recorded a pair of pins
before edging Sottosanto 5-2
in the third-place match.
“All the work I put in my senior
year was for that match,”
Pasowisty said.
Lockport Boys
Baseball ready for
50th-season milestone
Max Lapthorne, Editor
Baseball was a much different
game in 1969.
Fifty years ago, Ernie
Banks earned $60,000 in the
final All-Star season of his
Hall-of-Fame career with
the Chicago Cubs, while Jon
Lester is set to make $27.5
million to lead the Cubs’
pitching staff in 2019. But
even though the game of
baseball has changed — financially
and otherwise —
one local organization has
been around to see it all happen:
Lockport Boys Baseball.
The recreational baseball
league based in Lockport
is celebrating its 50th year
providing an opportunity
for local children to experience
America’s Pastime. As
of now, there aren’t concrete
plans for an anniversary celebration,
but something is
likely in the offing, according
to CJ Phillips, VP of Operations
for Lockport Boys
Baseball.
“Fifty years ago, a group
of people got together and
said ‘hey, let’s get something
together for the kids,’” Phillips
said.
About 300-400 players
across six levels are expected
to be a part of the organization
this year, according
to Phillips. The levels range
from the 4- and 5-yearold
league called Shetland
all the way up to the Pony
league for 13- and 14-yearold
players. There are no
cuts, so anyone interested in
playing is welcome to join.
“All kids are encouraged,
all kids are welcome,” Phillips
said. “Our name is still
technically Lockport Boys
Baseball, [but] we are not
gender-specific. We do have
women coaches, we have
girls that come out and play.
Everyone is welcome.”
In recent years, Phillips
has seen participation in the
organization decline, due at
least in part to the increase
in the prevalence of travel
baseball teams. But even
with the increasing popularity
of travel baseball,
organizations like Lockport
Boys Baseball are still
valuable because they offer
leagues for players as young
as 4 years old, Phillips said.
While the younger leagues
aren’t overly competitive,
they do provide an initial
exposure to the sport that
cannot be found many other
places.
“It helps develop the kids
for the grade schools, which
then in turn feed into the
high schools at much more
competitive levels,” Phillips
said.
Lockport Boys Baseball
is run entirely by volunteers,
including Phillips. He sees
it as not only an opportunity
to teach local youths about
baseball, but also to foster an
atmosphere that allows them
to grow in all facets of their
lives.
“Seeing them grow and
develop, whether it’s a skill
or just socially, it brightens
my day,” Phillips said. “I
know a lot of other volunteer
coaches want to be around
that happiness and bring joy
to all the kids.”