Lukas Adolfs' free throw in final seconds help Oswego East hold off furious Plainfield North rally

OSWEGO – Lukas Adolfs did not let the chaos of the last quarter Friday get in the way of the task at hand.

Or his concentration.

Oswego East’s 6-foot senior guard rebounded a teammate’s miss in traffic on his team’s last possession. He made the first of two free throws with 4.5 seconds left, teammate Andy Pohlman rebounded the second and dribbled out the clock as Oswego East held off Plainfield North 52-51 in a Southwest Prairie Conference thriller.

“Saw the ball get tipped out and I just knew I had to go get it,” Adolfs said. “Not much time left, had to get a shot up. Thought the clock was running way faster than it was, just thought ball to rim.”

Adolfs' free throw was his only points of the second half. It allowed Oswego East (4-2, 2-0) to escape with a win after letting a 14-point fourth-quarter lead slip away.

“Good routine, take my breath, just keep it consistent,” said Adolfs, who scored seven points and was 5 of 6 from the line. “When I knock it down it feels good.”

Mason Lockett scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Myles Buchanan added 14 points for Oswego East.

Quintin Wiencek scored 17 points, Lukas Alvarez 15 and Pierre Pointer 14 for Plainfield North (3-2, 1-1).

The Tigers led just once, 11-9 late in the first quarter on an Alvarez three, and trailed 49-35 early in the fourth.

But they roared back as Wiencek scored nine of his 17 in the fourth quarter while Plainfield North pressured Oswego East into five turnovers.

Darin Ashiru’s steal and runout score with 50 seconds left tied it 51-51.

“We’ve played hard all year. They never give up, they fly around and they have a lot of character. Proud of them for the comeback,” Plainfield North coach Robert Krahulik said. “Last four minutes we changed a few things, thought we could pressure them, forced some double teams and it worked.”

Lockett, who missed Oswego East’s first four games with a concussion, wasted no time showcasing the huge growth in his game.

The 6-foot-5 junior scored nine of his 19 points in the first quarter with a three-pointer and a mix of smooth drives to the rim and floaters.

Later he crossed a Plainfield North defender off his feet and dropped in a nifty floater. Oswego East led by as many as 11 points in the first half, 33-26 at halftime.

“I was just trying to take control from the jump, that we were going to come out here with the win, play our hardest,” Lockett said. “We knew how they were.”

People are realizing how Lockett is.

Lockett deferred to players like Jehvion Starwood as a sophomore, but has since grown 3-4 inches. He exploded on the AAU circuit and the offers have poured in, most recently from Minnesota. Lockett scored 20 points in his season debut Tuesday.

“The shooting is getting really pure, he can shoot the three, shoot at all three levels,” Oswego East coach Ryan Velasquez said. “He’s not even scratching the surface to what he can be. The time he puts in, you’re going to see a better version of Mason every time he comes out here.”

Fellow guard Buchanan didn’t even play basketball as a junior, but scored nine of his 14 points in the third quarter to stake Oswego East to the double-digit lead.

And then the Wolves weathered Plainfield North’s late 16-2 run, with Lockett accounting for Oswego East’s only two fourth-quarter field goals. Oswego East had as many points, five, as turnovers in the fourth.

“Felt like we did some really good things in the first half and got away from doing that in the second,” Velasquez said. “They tried to get the ball out of Mason’s hands more, threw a box-and-one at us a couple possessions. They’re kind of a scary team. I told our guys it would be a battle.”

Krahulik is encouraged, even with Wiencek not at 100%.

“Q has been hurt for us, trying to get back to his normal form, missed one game, played last two – you could tell he was laboring," Krahulik said. “Big picture, I’m happy. If you would have told me we’d be 3-2 with what we had coming back, I’d be very excited.”