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PLAINFIELD – On one hand, the final result of Tuesday’s boys basketball game between Plainfield North and Oswego East didn’t mean much in the short run. No matter who won or lost, the Wolfpack would remain in second place in the Southwest Prairie Conference and the Tigers' spot would range from fifth to seventh.
On the other hand, try telling anyone on Plainfield North Tuesday night didn’t matter.
The Tigers started hot and only got hotter as the game went on. Three players finished in double figures and the clock ran the whole fourth quarter as Plainfield North delivered a massive statement, beating Oswego East 69-42.
Plainfield North (15-9, 8-5) has often looked the part of a top-tier team in the Southwest Prairie Conference this season. They posted a dominant win against Plainfield South and hanging tough with Bolingbrook for a half. They’ve also had some struggles, losing to Plainfield East and struggling for three quarters before knocking off one-win Plainfield Central.
As of late, though, everything’s been coming up roses for the Tigers as they’ve won six contests in a row. They dominated the Wolfpack, the second-best team in one of the best conferences in the state, from start to finish on Tuesday night. The confidence boost alone for the Tigers means a whole lot of something.
“I hope the teams in our sectional realize (how big this is) when they go vote,” coach Robert Krahulik said. “We’re playing a lot better right now than we were in the beginning of the year. I know they go by record and all that, but we just beat what many would say is a top four or five seed in our sectional on a running clock. We’re playing well and I’m proud of my boys for that today.”
Oswego East (18-8, 10-3)was once again without 6-foot-5 junior Mason Lockett. The guard holds a Big Ten offer from Minnesota.
Plainfield North dropped 21 points as a team in the first quarter, led by 19 at the midway points and extended the edge to 30 entering the fourth. The Wolfpack’s only other losses in conference play were by 21 points to 23-3 Bolingbrook and a 54-52 nail-biter to third-place Joliet West. Plainfield North beat them by 27. No matter who was out, it was an impressive outing.
“We were very excited about this matchup,” senior Quintin Wiencek said. “We were very prepared, we wanted to win, we felt like we could win and that’s what we did. It was really nice.”
The shots were falling all night for the Tigers as Pierre Pointer dropped 20 points to lead all scorers. Wiencek was just behind him with 18 while Sam Finn put up 14. Torrin Ross was the leader for Oswego East with 12 points, the final six of which came late in the fourth.
The Wolfpack will continue to hope Lockett returns soon as they still have to play Bolingbrook a second time. The Raiders sit at 11-0 in conference play and haven’t been challenged, so Oswego East’s already slim odds of catching them for the title went down even further with the loss Tuesday.
The bigger focus now will be holding off Plainfield South, Joliet West and even Plainfield North and Romeoville for second place in the regular season standings.
“(We need to) take something away from this and get ready to practice tomorrow,” Wolfpack coach Ryan Velasquez said. “We’ve got a lot of practices left and three games. We’ve got to try and regroup and get better tomorrow. I don’t think it was our best effort today so we’ve just got to regroup and get back at it.”
On Friday, Oswego East will play Bolingbrook and Plainfield North has Minooka. From there, the Tigers will be focused on the playoffs and hoping the sectional voters take notice
“This is a very huge win for us,” Pointer said. “Over the years (Oswego East) has always had the upper hand on us. ...I hope we get a higher seed and then make it further in the playoffs.”