Dillon Orozco, Hinsdale Central stay hot, blow out Hersey at WSC/MSL Challenge

BUFFALO GROVE – Dillon Orozco was in high gear and put Hinsdale Central on cruise control in Saturday evening’s WSC/MSL Challenge matchup with Hersey.

The 6-foot Orozco scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and the Red Devils scored the first 12 points en route to a 70-46 victory over the Huskies at Buffalo Grove.

“Our coach (Nick Latorre) always says it can be a different guy every night,” Orozco said. “We’re such a balanced team and it can be anyone.

“My goal was to come out with a lot of energy. After our tournament everyone’s emphasis was to try to start the new year off right.”

Orozco, who was an all-tournament selection en route to a team title in the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic, shot 11-for-17 from the field and 3-for-5 behind the arc and had six rebounds and two assists. Tourney MVP and South Dakota recruit Vince Buzelis had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting with nine rebounds and four assists as the Red Devils (13-2) won their 10th consecutive game.

“We’re very unselfish,” Latorre said. “Our kids do a really good job of not worrying about who gets the credit and it’s fun to watch. They’re pretty good about not worrying about who scores and who does this and who does that.”

Hersey (12-2) was 2-for-15 behind the arc as it trailed 34-16 at half and 2-for-19 on 3s before junior Charlie Pomis (16 points) connected with 7:14 to play. Pomis finished 5-for-13 overall and 3-for-7 on 3s and Logan Luxem added 9 points.

“They’re a very good team but at times we took ourselves out of what we wanted to run and they sped us up a little bit,” said Hersey coach Bob Widlowski, whose team finished fifth at Pekin. “You’re concerned because they have seven guys who can score and (Buzelis) shared the ball and (Orozco) had an excellent game.”

Dillon Dell (nine points, 3-for-5 on 3s), 6-6 Michael Howell (seven points, four rebounds), Tyler Thick (six points) and Eric Kozys also played big roles for Hinsdale Central.

“We always want to be humble … and we always have to put our heads down and work hard every day,” Orozco said. “We’re probably one of the most hard-working teams in the state.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250104/boys-basketball/boys-basketball-hinsdale-central-stays-hot-wins-big-over-hersey/