Plainfield Central Nearly Pulls Off Stunner in Regionals

Not many close to the sport gave much of a chance to beat Homewood-Flossmoor in the Wildcats’ Class 4A boys basketball regional championship Friday night.

But, here they were, trailing by one possession with less than two minutes to go against the state-ranked Vikings.

No. 3 Homewood-Flossmoor hit 12 of 14 free throws in the final minute to escape with a 58-51 win over No. 7 Plainfield Central.

Homewood-Flossmoor (23-5) faces No. 2 Crete-Monee (23-3) in one of two Thornwood sectional semifinal games next week in South Holland.

“Plainfield Central had great fans, is a great team with a great coach,” Homewood-Flossmoor coach Jim McLaughlin said. “We’re lucky to come out of here alive.”

“We knew that not a lot of people gave us a chance,” Plainfield Central coach Steve Lamberti said. “That wasn’t a motivating factor. We played loose, with confidence, we had nothing to lose and we hit some shots. As far as our effort, level of play and competitiveness, we were satisfied with what we did out there. To lose against a great team and have them sweat, we’re proud of the guys for that.”

“We played a really great team with a lot of support behind them,” Plainfield Central senior Justin Scanlan said. “The papers said they are going downstate and I have confidence in that. We did everything we could. We just couldn’t get it done.”

Juniors Tyrone Sherman (21 points) and Delvon Rencher (20) spearheaded Homewood-Flossmoor’s attack.

“They are going to go somewhere,” Scanlan said. “It was a pleasure to play against them. I just wish we would have won.”

Scanlan’s 12 points led the Wildcats. Derrick Marks scored 10 points, all in the second half, and pulled down 12 rebounds to finish his career with a double double.

“Derrick, Justin and Shaun Sowell are going to be successful not because of athletes, but because they are good kids," Lamberti said.

Sowell’s four-point play at the end of the first quarter cut Homewood-Flossmoor’s lead to 12-10 after eight minutes.

Plainfield Central led on three different occasions in the second. The last came on Matthew Hund’s three-pointer with 4:30 to play in the second, giving the visitors on the scoreboard a 21-19 lead.

It was about the same time the Vikings switched from a 2-3 zone to a man-to-man defense. The Vikings closed the quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 31-21 lead at the intermission.

“There was that one stretch in the middle to late second quarter they went on a 12-0 run,” Lamberti said. “Aside from that stretch, we played as well or better than one of the best teams in the state. We’re not leaving here with moral victories. We’re leaving here knowing we had possessions we could have found a way to get a 'W.'”

Homewood-Flossmoor led 40-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

Marks hit a tough shot from the side under heavy pressure, cutting the Vikings’ lead to 48-45 with 1:48 to play in the game. That was as close as the Wildcats would get.

Sherman hit nine free throws down the stretch to help the Vikings win their eighth straight regional title and 21st in school history.