LP_022119

36 | February 21, 2019 | The Lockport Legend sports
lockportlegend.com
Boys Basketball
LTHS picks up two wins, puts on annual Porters vs. Cancer Night in busy week
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
It was an exciting start to
a busy week for the Porters.
Jake Karli scored on a
driving layup at the buzzer
to give the Lockport Township
boys basketball team a
memorable finish and a 39-
38 victory over Joliet Central
in a battle of longtime
rivals on Feb. 11 at the Steel
Gym in Joliet.
The game was originally
scheduled for Jan. 29 but
moved because of inclement
weather.
It was the first time in the
three meetings between current
Lockport coach Brett
Hespell and former Porter
coach Lawrence Thompson
Jr. that Lockport has won.
“With the last three, four
weeks we've had, we just
needed one to go our way,”
Hespell said. “To come here
and beat a good team like
this is going to give our guys
some confidence.
“I guess the third time is
the charm. Larry gave me
my start, and I owe a ton to
him. Just to share the same
court as him is an honor. So,
yes, to beat a Larry Thompson-coached
team on its
home floor is something.”
It appeared that the Porters
were going to go about business
and win the game without
much drama. They led
35-27 through three quarters.
A Thompson coached
team, however, never quits,
and that's exactly what happened,
as Joliet Central went
on a 9-0 run and grabbed
its first lead since the first
quarter when senior guard
Demarta Hill-Holmes scored
on his own rebound with
3:38 to play to cap the burst
and give the Steelmen a 36-
35 lead.
Lockport snatched the
lead back when senior center
Tommy Halatek (12
points, 9 rebounds) scored
on a layup with 1:45 to play.
Exactly one minute later,
Hill-Holmes, who scored
all seven of his points in the
fourth quarter, hit a short
jumper in the lane, putting
Joliet Central ahead 38-37.
Karli then drove to the
hoop but missed a layup.
The Steelmen grabbed the
rebound, but missed a free
throw with 7.9 seconds left
in the game. Lockport then
called time out at the 4.1-second
mark. Karli curled in to
receive the inbounds pass
near half court and darted to
the basket.
He converted the shot off
the right side of the backboard
just before the buzzer
went off. He was also fouled
on the play, but once the basket
went in, the officials ran
off the court, and the free
throw wasn't attempted, as it
was inconsequential.
“I was coming around on
a U-shape on the inbounds,
and then I found a gap in
the defense,” Karli, a senior
point guard, said. “I looked at
the clock and saw there were
three seconds left and just felt
I had to pass it or drive to the
hoop as soon as I could. So I
kept it and laid it up.
“I figured I'd make it or get
fouled, and when I heard the
whistle I was like, ‘Please
go in.’ I didn't want to shoot
free throws. This was a close
win, and with the sectional
seeding, a good win. One of
our biggest of the year.”
It was also the second
game-winning shot at the
buzzer this season for Karli,
who had never done that in
high school before this season.
He also converted a layup
with no time left on Nov.
24 to defeat Lemont 63-61 in
the third-place game at the
WJOL Thanksgiving Tournament.
Karli (7 points, 12 rebounds)
missed a pair of free
throws earlier in the quarter.
Lockport’s Jake Karli scored on a driving layup at the buzzer Feb. 11 against Joliet Central
to give his team a 39-38 win on the road. 22nd Century Media File Photo
Senior guard Matt Hatzopoulos
(10 points) also contributed
for the Porters. Junior
guard Dakoda Joachim
(8 points, 6 rebounds) and
senior center Kendrick Williams
(8 points) paced the
Steelmen.
Joliet Central (16-11
through Feb. 16), which
bounced back with a 60-44
win over Oswego on Saturday,
Feb. 16, scored the
game’s first seven points.
But the Porters came back to
lead 11-9 after the first quarter
and extended that spurt to
16-2 when Hatzopoulos hit a
3-pointer with 5:48 to play
in the second quarter.
Lockport led 20-14 at
halftime and scored the final
four points of the third quarter
to go up 35-27.
“Lockport stuck to its
game plan,” Thompson said
of his former team. “There
were a lot of missed opportunities
on our part, but
credit to Lockport. I'm proud
of my kids for fighting back.
We just needed one more
stop.”
There was no stopping the
Porters the next night on Feb.
12. They hosted Minooka in
a nonconference matchup
and came away with a 63-48
victory.
Senior guards Blake Sartin
(15 points) and Quinn
Gardner (10 points) led the
way, as 11 different players
scored and 10 different players
had an assist for Lockport.
The Porters led 14-12
after the first quarter, 25-20
at halftime and pulled away
to a 41-29 lead after three.
The next day, Feb. 13,
Bolingbrook came to town
for a SouthWest Suburban
Conference Blue Division
tussle. There, the Raiders
led the whole way and won
73-62.
Junior guard Darius Burford
(23 points, 7 rebounds),
along with senior guards
Taylor Cochran (15 points,
7 rebounds) and Joseph Yesufu
(14 points), led Bolingbrook
(19-6, 8-1 through
Feb. 15), which defeated visiting
Homewood-Flossmoor
65-60 two days later to win
the SWSC Blue title.
Halatek (22 points, 9 rebounds),
Hatzopoulos (13
points) and senior guard
John Vassilakis (11 points)
paced the Porters, who
trailed 38-27 at halftime and
by as many as 20 points in
the third quarter before closing
to within nine on a Karli
3-pointer with 1:12 to play
in the game.
Two days later, on Friday,
Feb. 15, the Porters played
their fourth game in a fiveday
span and lost their final
home game of the season by
the score of 54-40 to SWSC
Blue rival Sandburg.
The Eagles trailed 24-14
late in the second quarter but
outscored Lockport 40-16
the rest of the way. Senior
guard Kevin Agwomoh (20
points) and junior forward
Khaled Salah (12 points)
led Sandburg (12-15, 3-6),
which bounced back from
a 50-48 home loss to Plainfield
South two days earlier.
Sartin (12 points) and
Karli (9 points) led Lockport
(14-11, 3-6).
“We didn't play well at
all,” Hespell said of the
Sandburg game. “I think it
might've been the cumulative
effect of a really tough
week, with the four games in
five days. We let a doubledigit
lead in the first half disintegrate.
When we played
at their place [a 65-55 win
on Jan. 18], we pulled away
and led by 15 with less than
two minutes to go. So, it
looked to me like the fatigue
got to us, and we couldn't
make shots.”
What Hespell was happy
with was the money raised
and great attendance that
night for the 7th Annual Porters
vs. Cancer Night, which
raises funds for the fight
against cancer.
“It was fantastic, and
there were 500 students in
attendance,” Hespell said.
“I don't have totals on the
amount of money raised yet,
but we sold 700 pink shirts.
How awesome is that?
“I have to give a lot of
credit to Dana Ziemba and
the students in her sports
marketing class who did
a phenomenal job. There
were games and contests in
between every timeout and
quarter break. The kids led
the entire thing. It was a really
cool atmosphere. Also,
[Lockport principal] Dennis
Hicks got a pie in the face
because more than 250 students
were in attendance.”
Lockport was slated to end
the regular season on Tuesday,
Feb. 19, with a final
SWSC Blue game at Stagg.
The Porters received the No.
7 seed in the Class 4A East
Aurora Sectional.
They open postseason
play at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
Feb. 26, in the Andrew
Regional against the winner
of the No. 22-seed Andrew
and No. 10-seed Plainfield
North game from the day
before.
If the Porters win, they
will advance to the regional
title game at 7:30 p.m. on
March 1 and would likely
play No. 2-seeded Waubonsie
Valley. Lockport has not
played in a regional championship
game since last winning
one in 2011.