Boys Basketball: Fast Start Keys Plainfield South Win Over Joliet Catholic

The Hot Read: Plainfield South closed the first quarter on a 13-0 run and then scored the first b asket of the second quarter to take a commanding 26-11 lead on Senior Night in Plainfield. The Cougars were in control of the nonconference contest the rest of the way, but Joliet Catholic did manage to get within six points on three occasions in the fourth quarter before falling short. Joliet Catholic outscored Plainfield South in the final three quarters, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Cougars’ fast start.

Patch’s MVP: Plainfield South’s Ed Presniakovas did a little bit of everything in the victory.  He scored a team-high 15 points and added six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Presniakovas scored eight of his points, including two three-pointers, in the first quarter when the Cougars grabbed a 24-11 lead.

Key stat: Plainfield South got off to a sizzling start, making 10 of 15 shots (67 percent) from the field in the opening quarter, and never looking back.

Plainfield South’s leaders: Ed Presniakovas (15 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals), Zach Snowden (14 points, five rebounds, three blocks), Darrell Collins (11 points), William Nixon (eight points, nine rebounds, three blocks) and Kevin Coker (eight points, six rebounds)

Joliet Catholic’s leaders: Breshion Tucker (20 points, five rebounds, four steals), Breion Tucker (11 points, five rebounds), Brequan Tucker (six points, five rebounds) Mike Serksnas (five points, five rebounds), Chris Harris (five points, four rebounds) and Ryan Peter (five points, three rebounds)

Quotable I: Plainfield South coach Ken Bublitz on his team’s fast start: “That was a great situation for us. It’s always nice to get a lead in double figures. Our kids really did some nice things. They really moved the ball well and defended well. The scoreboard was indicative of that.”

Quotable II: Joliet Catholic coach Jeff Budz on the loss: “We played pretty hard. We won three quarters tonight but we are the kings of digging ourselves a hole and then trying to battle our ways out. They’re tall and athletic and we don’t have the height. They play very hard. I give our kids a lot of credit. We battle every game and we don’t give up.”

Quotable III: Bublitz on the key to the victory: “We had to neutralize their perimeter game by getting the ball inside. Sometimes we got away from that but I thought Joliet Catholic had a lot to do with that. I’m very impressed by their effort. I thought they really maintained toughness throughout the entire game and put themselves in position to make a run.”

Team records: Plainfield South (17-6); Joliet Catholic (9-13)

What’s next: Plainfield South will host Southwest Prairie Conference rival Plainfield East at 7 p.m. Friday, while Joliet Catholic closes the regular season with East Suburban Catholic Conference matchups against visiting St. Patrick on Friday and Notre Dame on Feb. 23.