Boys Basketball: Adrian Anderson, Morton give valiant effort, lose in final seconds to Proviso East

DOWNERS GROVE – Adrian Anderson crouched down near the corner of the gym to reflect on his thoughts.

The Morton senior point guard had a stoic expression after enduring a chaotic final two quarters on Wednesday night.

After the 12th-seeded Mustangs fell short of notching a major upset over No. 6-seed Proviso East in a Class 4A Downers Grove North Regional semifinal, Anderson stared blank-faced at the opposite end of the court.

The Mustangs played one of their best games of the season, but dropped a 52-50 decision to the Pirates to put an end to their season. The 5-foot-11 Anderson, a second-year starter, did everything possible to will the Mustangs (11-16) to a victory. The Pirates (23-6) pulled out the comeback victory by hitting late free throws, with Bryce Coleman scoring the winning basket, off a feed from Diamonte Meeks, with four seconds left in regulation.

Morton failed to get a shot off to lose to the Pirates for the third time this season. Anderson powered the Mustangs for the first half, scoring nine points in the first quarter and five in the second to score a game-high 25 points. Senior forward Victor Garrett scored 10 points in the loss.

“It’s a tough loss, but I’m proud of my teammates because we fought hard and to the end and didn’t give up,” Anderson said. “We progressed as a team, and I got better as my team got better. They really helped me.”

Anderson is the latest Morton point guard to put his stamp on the West Suburban Gold. He possesses good quickness to go with a solid crossover and change-of-pace skills. He made two 3-pointers against the Pirates, and was constantly probing their defense for open looks.

Anderson said he wants to play basketball in college.

“I’m open to any schools that want me to play for them, and am looking to play anywhere,” Anderson said. “I learned a lot from our past guards. I watched them a lot, and they taught me a lot and it helped make me and my teammates better.

“I think I got a lot better since the summer, from my whole game in passing and making my teammates better and my overall scoring.”

Garrett, a 6-6 athletic and strong player, battled in the paint all game against the Pirates. He had a two-handed dunk to give the Mustangs a 20-11 lead in the second quarter. He added a strong lay-in, off an assist from Anderson, to hand his team a 24-16 edge. Garrett opened some eyes with a powerful putback dunk for a 37-32 advantage late in the third.

Garrett scored a tip-in basket for a 44-42 lead midway through the fourth, but the Mustangs managed just six more points in the final four-plus minutes of regulation.

“It’s tough to lose after working hard and coming together for the first three quarters before we just fell apart,” Garrett said. “We played really well in the beginning, but we had some turnovers and little things added up in the end. I hate that the season ended this way.”

Proviso East managed to mount a comeback thanks to hitting its free throws and attacking the offensive glass for second-chance points to wear out the Mustangs. Meeks was clutch, hitting all eight of his free-throw attempts for 10 points. Coleman scored a team-high 16 points and Emory Marshall had 12 points.

Morton coach Tony Martinucci said his players ran out of gas late in the fourth quarter.

“Today was all about free throws, but we also got tired,” he said. “We gave them some life by missing free throws. I thought early this season we underachieved, but late we played really well. We just seemed to bite ourselves in the foot. We missed too many free throws.”