Boys basketball: Plainfield North trips Joliet Central to win consolation title at Morris Shootout

MORRIS – Plainfield North and Joliet Central lost opening games Wednesday in the Gold Bracket at the Morris Shootout. But neither team let that stop them, as they each won their next two games and met in the consolation championship. Plainfield North came away with a 38-27 win to finish the day at 3-1 and the tournament 6-1.

“We had a good run,” North coach Bob Krahulik said. “We played hard and found our defense. With the lack of size that we have, we had to play good defense and we did that. We also have a lot of good shooters, and that can help make up for a lack of size.

“It was definitely a long day today. We played our first game at noon, and this last game started a little before 7. The guys could have given up and gone through the motions at any point today, but they went out to lunch together after the first game and decided to keep pushing. A day like this is when you find out what kinds of kids you have, and our kids showed a lot today.

After going 3-0 in Tuesday’s pool play, the Tigers took a 53-47 decision against Riverside-Brookfield in the first game of the Gold Bracket. They then beat Pontiac 67-44 and Loyola 42-35 to advance to the consolation title game.

“Evan Czarnik is taking more of a leadership role for us,” Krahulik said. “He’s still a great shooter, but we need him to do more this year, and he has been. Jeffrey Fleming, who averaged 15 points and eight rebounds last year, is somehow doing even more so far this summer. They have been great leaders for us.”

Joliet Central went 2-1 in pool play Tuesday and began Wednesday with a 71-45 loss to Bolingbrook. The Steelmen then came from behind to beat Normal West 54-51 and rallied again to top Kankakee 49-46 to reach the consolation title game. Despite the loss at the end, coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. was pleased with his team’s effort over the two days.

“There were a lot of positives,” Thompson said. “We got thumped pretty good against Bolingbrook, and we could have hung our heads and gone home but we got behind in our next two games and came back and won them. The kids stuck together, and that was a great step for us.

“All the kids got playing time and they all did a great job. I am real happy with the progress I saw.”

Other strong showings

Bolingbrook was looking to win its third Morris Shootout title since 2017, but that plan was derailed by a hot-shooting DeKalb team in the semifinals of the Gold Bracket. The Barbs lit it up for 30 points in the first quarter and cruised to a 71-53 win over the Raiders en route to a championship matchup with Collinsville. Collinsville won the title with a 50-48 victory.

Minooka went 2-1 in pool play and won its first game in the Maroon Bracket, beating Lake Park, 42-34. The Indians were then beaten by DeKalb 57-45 to end their tournament with a 3-2 record.

Ottawa, meanwhile, went 0-3 in pool play Tuesday and lost its first game in the Maroon Bracket on Wednesday 68-50 to Tolono. The Pirates rebounded to win their next two games, beating Chicago Ag Science 56-41 and Belvidere 54-49 to advance to the Maroon Bracket consolation title game, where they lost 56-44 to Bloomington Central Catholic.

“I felt like we made good progress over the two days,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “We aren’t going to remember wins and losses in summer games, but we will remember what we learned in these games. I thought our juniors did a good job of developing and being more in synch with the veteran guys.

“We were able to play seven games in two days, and you don’t play seven games here if you aren’t playing well. We got a lot of kids a lot of minutes, and I was pleased with the progress we made.”

The little guys

While the 32-team field was dominated by Class 4A and 3A schools, Sandwich, the second-smallest school in the field with an enrollment of 623 [Tolono was the smallest at 517], showed it could compete with the big boys.

The Indians went 0-3 in pool play Tuesday, but beat Plainfield South 46-44 in the opening round of Wednesday’s Maroon Bracket before dropping a 64-46 decision to Oswego and finishing the event with a 1-4 record.

“Most of this field is made up of 4A teams, and we are the second-smallest in the field,” Sandwich coach Kevin Kozan said. “We competed well both days. To get a win over a good Plainfield South team was big for us.

“Playing in an event like this is nothing but a great experience for us. We want to play the 4A schools. They bring size and quickness we don’t usually see, and going up against that will make us better.”