Plainfield N. ends with a flourish
PONTIAC -- It's not how you start, it's how you finish.
For Plainfield North High School, slow starts have become an all too familiar routine this season. And the Tigers' opening round game at the 78th Annual Pontiac Tournament against United Township was no exception.
The good news, though, was that the Tigers once again dug themselves out of an early hole, and came roaring back to register an important 50-37 victory.
"It's hard to get the kids going," Plainfield North coach Nick DiForti said of the team's slow starts. "It seems like we need to get knocked down before we step up the intensity. We're trying to work on that."
Plainfield North, which improved to 11-1 on the season, began the game in a match-up zone defense as opposed to their normal man-to man.
"We thought that we would be able to throw them (United Township) for a loop by opening in our match-up," said DiForti. "We had practiced it for about a week, and it looks good in practice, but they are a very well coached team and they took advantage of it."
After a Kendall Frank lay-up spotted the Tigers a 2-0 lead, United Township, now 7-4 on the year, put together a string of 15 consecutive points. Connecting on three long range field goals, the Panthers were able to build a 15-2 lead with 0:44 to play in the first quarter.
Late in the Panthers' first quarter scoring surge, the Tigers abandoned the zone defense.
For United Township, Kannan Burrage proved to be its main weapon. And it could be said that during this game, he fired the ball like a "cannon" and put up a "barrage" of shots.
Burrage scored 10 of the 15 points in the Panthers' early scoring streak, including a pair of 3-point field goals. And while Burrage led all scorers with 25 points, he made just 6-of-24 shots from the field. He was 5-of-15 from 3-point range.
During the first quarter dry spell for North, the Tigers managed to get good looks at the basket, but misfired on 11 consecutive shots.
Chris McMath stopped the Panthers run and ended the first quarter scoring by connecting on a 3-pointer that provided the Tigers with a little boost. United led 15-5 after one quarter.
"Chris has hit some big shots for us this season, and he continues to improve. He has a great mid-range game," said DiForti.
The Tigers used their man-to man defense to turn up the intensity and change the complexion of the game.
By crashing the boards and getting high percentage shots, the Tigers out-scored the Panthers 14-4 and tied the score at 19-all on McMath's 17-foot jumper. North managed to haul down five offensive rebounds in the second quarter,and out-rebounded United 11-3 in the period. For the game, North earned a 40-24 rebounding advantage.
Despite falling so far behind early, North was able to tie the score at 21 at halftime.
The Tigers defense was a key element in the second half. North limited United Township just 3 points during a 13:29 span that stretched from the 2:14 mark of the first half, until just 3:46 remained in the game. That enabled the Tigers to erase a 21-19 deficit, and build a comfortable 40-24 lead. All five starters scored during that stretch, led by Scott Vachon with 10 points. It was a 3-point field goal by McMath to open the scoring in the third quarter that gave the Tigers the lead for good.
For the game, Vachon and McMath each scored 14 points, while Reggie Lemon added 10.
The Tigers' reward for their comeback win is a chance to play top-seeded Waukegan, which easily defeated Danville in its first round game, at 4 p.m. today. The Bulldogs are led by Jereme Richmond, a 6-foot-7 junior who averages 23 points a game and who has verbally committed to play basketball at the University of Illinois.
"Our goal was to come down here and win two games," DiForti said. "The game against Waukegan will be huge. It will be a good opportunity to see exactly where we are at."
