Boys basketball: Smith, Joliet West hold off Minooka challenge

JOLIET – The Minooka boys basketball team walked into Joliet West’s gym on Tuesday night fully intent on playing at its pace, which is slower than West usually prefers.

Not this time. The Tigers walked – and occasionally ran – their way to a 49-40 victory in the Southwest Prairie Conference showdown.

The more interesting number might have been 26-8. That was West’s rebounding margin. Michael Smith (19 points) and Charles McKinney each had five boards for the Tigers (10-14, 6-7).

“We knew they’re a structured team, so we made sure if they shot, it was contested and it was only one shot,” West coach Nick DiForti said. “A team like that, if you give them second chances, they can knock it down.”

Smith hit a pair of 3-pointers in West’s 12-2 run to open the third quarter, which brought a 33-22 advantage. But the Indians chipped away, pulling within two points twice.

“The two 3s got the team hyped,” Smith said. “We started playing defense, transition, and the early buckets made them call time. They’re pretty tough to play, fundamentally sound. We like to play fast, but it doesn’t really matter to us. We can play either way.”

Minooka fell to 15-13, 7-6 after winning three of its last four. Michael Fruscione’s 10 points paced the Indians.

They made a game of it until the final four minutes. Jaedon Johnson hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 40-38, but West, behind Smith’s conventional three-point play and contributions from Anthony Boria and McKinney, scored the next six points to put the game out of the Indians’ reach.

“We just never really got it going tonight,” Minooka coach Scott Tanaka said. “The playoffs are around the corner. We’ve got to find a way to get it going fast. We didn’t rebound the ball well, and I thought our intensity wasn’t there.”

West’s defense had something to do with Minooka’s 40 percent (14 of 35) shooting as well.

“It was our senior night, so we had a little more to play for,” DiForti said. “We played to our strengths.”

West’s secret weapon was Darren Williams, back in the lineup with a seven-point showing after missing about six weeks with a broken hand. That’s one reason the Tigers’ record is not what is was expected to be. As 10-14 teams go, they’re solid.

“We’ve been starting freshmen and sophomores,” DiForti said. “On senior night, we started some other guys.”

It worked.