Another strong second half sends Streator past Lincoln-Way Central, into Plano semis

PLANO – The Streator Bulldogs and Lincoln-Way Central Knights saw a lot of themselves in their first post-Christmas opponents Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the 61st Plano Christmas Classic.

While the fourth-seeded Knights got the better of fifth-seeded Streator in the first half of the mirror matchup, the Bulldogs' defensive intensity, clutch shooting and all-around scrappiness in the second half pulled them past L-W Central 60-52 and into an 8:30 p.m. Friday semifinal against top-seeded and defending champion Kaneland.

“Their pressure kind of got to us,” Knights coach Brian Flaherty said. “They sped us up, played a lot more physical and aggressive than they did in the first half, and I thought that was the difference.

“Normally, I’d consider us to be a pretty tough team, and I told our kids this was going to be like playing a mirror image of ourselves today. Whoever was the tougher team was probably going to be the winning team, and I thought in the second half [Streator] just wanted it more than we did.”

Center Nolan Lukach posted a 25-point, 11-rebound double-double to lead the Bulldogs (10-2). Fellow seniors Matt Williamson (14 points, four assists), Isaiah Weibel (five points, seven rebounds) and Tristan Finley (10 points, game-high six assists) also led the Bulldogs.

Streator’s clutch shots included second-half 3-pointers from Nolan Ketcham and Blaize Bressner as well as a 3 from Finley that cut Streator’s deficit at the half down to six points after trailing by double digits in both of the first two quarters.

“I feel like that’s what we are, a scrappy team, playing good defense,” said Finley, a transfer from neighboring Ottawa. “Even if we get down, we’re never out of a game. That’s just been the team we’ve been since Day 1.

“Most of the games, you go back and look, we’re down at the half. But that’s not how it ends.”

The Knights (8-4) were led by a 16-point, eight-rebound performance from Korey Cagnolatti, 14 points and five assists from Kevin Barrett before he fouled out with 1:13 remaining and eight points with three steals courtesy of Alex Panos.

Lincoln-Way Central held a 29-23 lead at the half, powered by 52.2% (12-of-23) first-half shooting, including 38.5% (5-of-13) from 3-point distance. Barrett connected on three of those first-half 3s, including the one that gave L-W Central its first double-digit advantage (16-6) just under five minutes in and another that returned the Knights' lead to double digits (25-13) with 3:33 left in the second after a Streator run.

The Bulldogs surrendered another Barrett 3 to open the second half, but from there played a fantastic third quarter – one in which they shot 50% from the field and committed zero turnovers – to turn the six-point deficit into a 41-38 advantage. L-W Central briefly recaptured the lead on a 3-for-3 trip to the free throw line by Panos with 5:37 remaining, but Bressner’s 3 with 4:09 left in the fourth put Streator ahead for good.

A Lukach 3-pointer and 6-of-6 free throw shooting from Williamson down the stretch closed out the win, sent Lincoln-Way Central to Friday’s 5:30 p.m. fifth-place bracket game against La Salle-Peru and propelled Streator to a semifinal rematch with Kaneland, which defeated the Bulldogs 59-49 last December on its way to the 2023 Christmas Classic title.

“They were a ton last year, and they’re a ton this year too,” Streator coach Beau Doty said. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge, but those are challenges you want. With a team you have a lot of confidence in like we do with our team, you want to be here, you want to be playing the best teams.

“That’s why we’re here, and we only have one goal this week. That’s to win a championship.”

Despite L-W Central’s hot start, Streator ultimately outshot the Knights 39.1%-36.4%, also outrebounding them 34-30.