Late burst carries Waukegan over Niles West
by mike madigan Contributor January 16, 2012 2:10PM
Skokie, 01/13/12 Niles West's David McCoy takes the jump shot during their game against Waukegan at Niles West Jan. 13. | Curtis Lehmkuhl~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 20, 2012 8:11AM
Visiting Waukegan outscored Niles West 12-3 during the final 4:36 of Friday’s game in taming the Wolves 62-53 in the Central Suburban South.
Niles West fell to 2-11 overall (0-5 conference) at the halfway point of the league campaign, while Waukegan — lurking behind league-leading New Trier (5-0 conference) — improved to 7-8, 4-1.
Junior Devonte Taylor and senior Akeem Springs each scored 22 points for Waukegan.
Joe Younan, a junior guard for Niles West, had 23 points to lead all scorers. He hit four three-pointers.
With the score tied at 50-50, the contest turned on a wild play, with the officials caught in the middle.
While Taylor was scoring from underneath the bucket, Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw was calling for a timeout from the bench. One official signaled the hoop was good, while the other ref seemed to be awarding the timeout.
The ruling on the court was that Taylor scored before the timeout, giving Waukegan a 52-50 lead.
Niles West coach Bob Williams saw it a different way, and he was T’d-up for stepping onto the court for what he thought was a timeout. Waukegan’s D.J. Ross shot 1-for-2 on the technical foul, and Taylor then made it a five-point possession by scoring a bucket.
Niles West then turned the ball over, and Waukegan scored again for a 57-50 lead. After yet another Wolves turnover, Taylor scored another basket, and it was 59-50 — and game over — with 1:30 left.
“I thought we played hard. A play here, a play there, and it’s a different game,” Williams said. “But that has been the case for most of our season.”
The play that resulted in the technical baffled Williams, who was on the court when Taylor scored to make it 52-50 only because he thought a timeout was called.
“I’m still not sure why I got the call on me,” he said. “But you have to live with the referee’s decision. I will find out later.”
As has been the case almost all season, Niles West played almost well enough to win.
Younan had 10 points in the first quarter, when Niles grabbed an early 10-2 lead. Then, Springs (11 first-quarter points) fueled a Waukegan rally that cut the Wolves’ lead to 15-14 after one quarter.
The Wolves still led 31-30 at halftime and 48-47 after three quarters.
In the first three periods, Niles West had a 31-13 rebounding edge, including a 14-4 advantage in offensive boards. But in the fourth quarter, Niles West was 2-for-11 from the field and committed seven turnovers. Younan’s five points were all the Wolves could muster in eight minutes.
“It’s frustrating because we’ve been in most of the games this season. We just haven’t been able to finish,” Williams said. “We’ll continue to persevere and try to turn it around.”
Niles West will begin its second round of divisional games against New Trier at home on Friday.
On Saturday, St. Patrick came out firing and blasted Niles West 62-45.
After missing their the first shot, the Shamrocks converted their next eight, including four from beyond the arc, three of those from Loren Horton.
“I only shoot when I am open,” Horton said. “And I was open early thanks to our point guard Royale Ewing. He had everyone in the right place.”
St. Patrick led 20-6 after the first quarter. Niles West (2-12) made a run in the second quarter as the Wolves closed to 26-17 with 2:45 left in the first half on a trey by CJ Dimaano (11 points).
St. Patrick led 52-26 late in the third quarter when Niles West made it a little bit exciting. Led by Ahmad Gibson (12 points), Dimaano and DJ Harris (7 points), the Wolves went on a 19-4 run to close to 56-45 with 3:42 to play. But that was as close as Niles West would get.
“This has been a microcosm of the whole season,” Williams said. “We are searching for some consistency. But there is no quit in our kids.”
— Dick Quagliano
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