Bolingbrook explodes in third quarter to run away from Minooka, 66-28

MINOOKA – Tuesday’s game between Bolingbrook and Minooka was a back-and-forth affair in the first quarter. The second quarter remained competitive with the Raiders holding a slim margin entering the locker room at the midway point.

Once they got in there, Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost must’ve given the best halftime speech since Hoosiers because the second half was all Raiders.

The Raiders scored 25 points in the third quarter alone after putting up 24 in the entire first half. What’s more is they held Minooka to just eight points in the period to trigger a running clock in the fourth and pick up a 66-28 Southwest Prairie Conference win on the road.

Bolingbrook (8-1, 4-1) got the production they’ve come to expect from their usual suspects. Davion Thompson scored 21 points while hauling in five boards as JT Pettigrew chipped in a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards.

In the early going, though, it looked like they’d never every point they could get. There were seven lead changes in the opening six minutes as Bolingbrook simply couldn’t pull away. The Raiders were only up 20-18 with under two minutes in the opening half when Thompson hit a pair of threes to make it a six-point margin at the midway point.

The second half, though, was a totally different story. Bolingbrook began the third with a 15-2 run, holding the Indians to one basket in the opening six minutes of the second half. That was enough separation to start a running clock in the fourth as both teams went deep into the bench for the final eight minutes.

“(At halftime) we talked about executing what we should’ve been executing in the first and second quarter,” Brost said. “I told the guys there’s never any room for panic. When you’re us the expectation is that you play great every second of every game and that’s not realistic. We’re getting better and figuring some things out. I was really happy how we responded in the second half.”

Minooka had more than one advantage in the early going. A layup by Kevin Bisbee was followed by two forced turnovers by the defense as the Indians held the Raiders scoreless the first 2:30. That was when Brady Pettigrew (eight points, two steals) stole the ball and scored on a breakaway dunk, but the two teams began exchanging leads from there.

The Raiders were up 8-7 when Thompson finally ended the blow-for-blow action with a three-pointer. JT Pettigrew made it 13-7 on a layup late in the first quarter, but a buzzer-beating jumper by Brady Hairald cut Minooka’s deficit to 13-9 at the end of one.

Things remained competitive in the second as the Indians outperformed the Raiders on the boards. However, solid defense kept Minooka from having many points to show for their performance on the glass. The Indians did get back within one basket multiple times in the period, including when Zane Caves hit a three to make it 20-18 with 1:49 left. Thompson’s consecutive triples gave the game a 24-18 midway score.

The third period, once again, was all Raiders.

A three by Kendall Cutler less than 30 seconds in set the tone early. A layup by Caves at the 6-minute mark was the only score for the first 5:30 and was followed by back-to-back triple by Thompson. When Jeremiah Brown snapped the drought for Minooka with a layup, JT Pettigrew immediately answered with a 3-pointer in a dominant quarter.

A layup by Bisbee cut the disadvantage to 49-26 entering the final period, but that wasn’t enough to stop the running clock as the backups went in for both teams.

“I really felt like we kind of gave up when Bolingbrook came out with more intensity in the third quarter,” Minooka coach Brett Hespell said. “I don’t think we matched it and we gave up. You can’t do that.”

Minooka will visit Bremen on Wednesday while Bolingbrook will visit Plainfield East on Friday.

“We’ve just got to stack games,” JT Pettigrew said. “We’re trying to build off each win and focus on the next one in front of us.”