Dom Rome, Sandwich hold off late rally to beat Johnsburg

SANDWICH – Dom Rome scored the final point of the evening to help Sandwich seal a Kishwaukee River Conference win over Johnsburg on Friday.

The senior forward sank a critical free throw with 2.4 seconds remaining and finished with a game-high 25 points for the Indians, who built a double-digit lead in the first half and held off a late surge from the Skyhawks to beat Johnsburg 64-60.

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Sandwich’s Quinn Rome (32) plays the ball in the post against Johnsburg's John Kaunas (20) during a basketball game at Sandwich High School on Friday, January 31, 2025. (Sean King for Shaw Local News Ne)

In a crucial conference matchup, Sandwich (14-9, 7-2 KRC) avenged an early-season loss to the Skyhawks (11-12, 5-3), who defeated the Indians 62-58 in December, to remain atop the KRC standings.

“I knew we were going to win,” Rome said. “We were confident and we’ve been getting a lot better throughout the season. They had us at the start of the season, but we’ve been playing a lot better over our last couple of games. We’ve had good practices and we’re really focusing on our defense. We’ve been flying around, rebounding the ball, playing tough and being physical.”

Rome fueled the Sandwich offense during the first half, where the 6-foot-5 senior did most of his damage around the basket and made a pair of highlight plays including a one-handed dunk in transition and a 3-pointer from the corner.

The Indians also received a boost from junior guard Griffin Somlock, who buried a trio of triples in the opening half to spark the Sandwich offense. Somlock finished with 15 points for the Indians, who have now won nine of their last 10 games.

“My teammates and I were gassed, but we pushed through it,” Somlock said. “For me, it starts with practice and I’ve gotten a lot of shots up. My coach keeps me conditioned and it feels great to win. It’s a new year and for us, there’s something about a new year because we went through the same thing last year. We just have to keep pushing and finish out the season strong.”

Rome scored 17 first-half points for the Indians, who held an 18-14 lead over Johnsburg after the opening quarter. While Sandwich sought to play inside-out with Rome and Somlock leading the charge, Johnsburg looked for its offense around the 3-point line, where junior guard Ashton Stern knocked down a pair of triples during the first quarter. Despite an encouraging first few minutes, though, the Skyhawks struggled from deep range, falling behind 35-24 at halftime.

“We’re both at the top of the conference so we knew it would be a tight game,” Johnsburg head coach Mike Toussaint said. “We need to take better care of the ball at times. We have to come out with better intensity from the start. I thought we were out of position in the first half, so we tweaked some things to take away the high post because that’s where everything was going.”

Johnsburg battled back during the second half, where the Skyhawks implemented more full-court pressure and guarded with greater intensity in the half-court setting. Perhaps most importantly, Johnsburg held Rome scoreless during the third quarter, where Skyhawks forward Josh Kaunas found the hot hand on offense. The 6-foot-6 guard converted five second-half field goals, including a 3 late in the fourth quarter, to finish with 19 points for Johnsburg.

“They weren’t guarding him at the 3-point line and he can shoot it,” Toussaint said. “He’s good around the basket, too, and he can drive the ball for a layup. He’s going to be a good player.”

Johnsburg’s increased defensive pressure led to turnover struggles for the Indians, who remained ahead 47-39 after three quarters but saw their lead diminish to as little as one point with under 32 seconds remaining in the game. After struggling from 3-point range over the second and third quarters, Johnsburg recaptured its rhythm, converting four 3s in the fourth, with Stern making two, including a clutch shot that made the score 60-59 in favor of Sandwich.

But the late buckets weren’t enough to upend the Indians, who went 7 of 10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to seal their victory. Senior guard Simeion Harris came up clutch for Sandwich, making 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth to end the game with seven points.

Three Johnsburg players finished in double figures, with junior guard Jayce Schmitt scoring 16 points and making three 3-pointers. Stern finished with 15 points on five 3s.