OSWEGO -- There's clutch shots and clutch shooters.
The Geneva boys basketball team needed both Wednesday to take down Oswego 51-43 during the semifinals of the Hoops for Healing Tournament.
"It wouldn't have been the same ballgame if we'd just hit our free throws," Vikings coach Phil Ralston said.
But Geneva (3-0) did not, making just 4 of 12 shots from the foul line during the fourth quarter to blow a nine-point lead.
An 11-0 Oswego run to start the final period gave the Panthers (2-1) a narrow two-point edge.
That's when point guard Nolan Block reasserted his senior leadership and drained his first 3-pointer since the second quarter.
"We've got a lot of new faces," Block said. "Sometimes you have to be the one to step up and make the big shot."
One possession later, Block found junior Dan Trimble out of a double-team and the 6-foot-6 forward knocked down his 3-point look from the left wing to regain control of the game for the Vikings.
"During the timeout after they tied the ballgame, we told them to relax and run our offense," Ralston said. "It's like we got afraid to shoot the ball there at the end. We told them that they were playing to not lose the game instead of playing to win."
Block finished with 17 points to go along with four assists, while Trimble had seven points and four rebounds in the win.
"If we gets open shots within our offense then we have to take those," Ralston said. "It was about being patient and getting the looks that we wanted. When they came up with their pressure, the skips were open. It's how Nolan got his shot and Dan got his."
Brandon Beitzel added 13 points and eight rebounds for Geneva, whose defense limited the Panthers to just one double-figure scorer (Andrew Ziemnik with 12) and only nine points in both the second and fourth quarters.
"Our defense so far in the early season has been the key," Block said. "If we keep playing 'D' like that, holding opponents to below 50 points, we'll be in good shape."
Oswego coach Kevin Schnable had a different take.
"We tied it at 41 and fell apart," Schnable said. "We were applying practices to the game and then for some reason we took breaks on defense and had breakdowns. We just didn't get it done on the defensive end.
"Offensively, we didn't control the ball, didn't value the possession, and started taking questionable shots."
Waubonsie Valley 60, West Chicago 45 -- With the Warriors up just three points with a little over four minutes to go in the game, Waubonsie Valley senior Tyler Perkins kickstarted a 14-2 run by scoring on three straight possessions.
The Warriors defended late in the game, made their free throws down the stretch and came out a 60-45 winner.
"Tyler Perkins did a nice job making shots down the stretch," Waubonsie coach Steve Weemer said. "We've been deficient in some things and in the first two games we've been exposed. Today, we got better at a few things and one was just taking care of the basketball."
Perkins scored 12 points and the Warriors (1-2) got a game-high 15 points from junior Jakobi Johnson. Senior Alex Edmondson added 10.
"Our shot selection was better and we executed better," Weemer said. "We still missed a lot in the first half, but we hung in there and in the second half we made the shots we were missing. We started out the game 0-for-8 and they were all at point-blank range. We'll get better."
Marmion 45, DeKalb 43 -- DeKalb center Jordan Threloff's imposing 6-foot-10 presence was evident in the first half of the Barbs game against Marmion.
Down 25-15, the Cadets made Threloff play their style, rallied and took the lead on Eddy Grahovec's 3-pointer with under two minutes left in the game.
Then, tied 43-43, Threloff's baby hook was too strong, giving Marmion possession with just 4.6 seconds remaining.
Coach Rashon Burno took a timeout and dialed up a play to get senior Mark Peters running towards the basket.
"I knew that (Threloff) wasn't going to guard the entry pass," Burno said. "I wanted to get Mark on a full head of steam and let our best player make a play."
Peters' sprinting, left-handed scoop layup dropped as time expired giving the Cadets the improbable 45-43 win. "I was just supposed to drive down and if the layup was taken away then kick to one of my guys," an elated Peters said. "I saw an opening, went up for it and it went in."
Peters finished with 17 points and Grahovec had 10.
Threloff, headed to Illinois State, had 17 points, but most were in the first half before the Cadets (1-2) adjusted to the huge mismatch.
"We knew he was a big kid," Peters said. "I give huge credit to Graham Glasgow. That was his biggest assignment of the tournament."
Naperville North 67, Oswego East 39 -- If three of four quarters is a decent sample size then Oswego East has problems.
The Wolves had one good stretch during the second-quarter, but succumbed to the talent of Naperville North in a 67-39 thrashing.
"There's no question Naperville North was a better team," East coach Jason Buckley said. "That being said, I don't think they're 30 points better. We didn't play as hard as they did and that's on me. I'll give my guys some credit since our starters have logged a lot of minutes in three days."
The Huskies (3-0) scored at will in the second half and will face Geneva (3-0) on Friday in the championship.
As for East, it was never pretty, getting held below 10 points in three quarters and allowing nearly 20 points to North during the same span.
"We talked about focus and we let down on that during stretches," Buckley said. "It's not so much that they scored and we didn't, but how they were getting some of their buckets."
Boys Basketball | Hoops for healing tournament
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