Boys Basketball: Plainfield Central wins large school title at Romeoville
By Tina Akouris takouris@suntimes.com December 28, 2012 11:50PM
Plainfield Central did what it does best Friday night, rolling to a 54-36 victory over host Romeoville to claim the large school title in the Romeoville Christmas Classic.
What the Wildcats did was pretty easy to figure out.
“We got the ball inside and we know we had an advantage inside, as we usually do,” Central coach Steve Lamberti said. “Once we found that little seam in the middle of (Romeoville’s) 1-3-1 (defense) it was huge. And in the second half, we put the pressure on them defensively and forced them to shoot contested shots.”
Central (6-5) took a 24-19 lead at halftime.
Romeoville (3-9) cut into the Wildcats’ lead early in the third quarter and trailed by five, only to have Central score seven unanswered points to take a 35-23 lead.
By the end of the third quarter, Central had a commanding 40-25 lead.
“We wanted to make them uncomfortable, and in the first half I thought we were a little stagnant,” Lamberti said. “We didn’t let the game get too crazy, but in the third quarter we tried to put more pressure on the ball and defended the wings.”
What may have hurt the most for Romeoville was watching Duvaun Goodlow knock down a three-pointer and then make another basket during that 7-0 spurt. Goodlow transferred from Romeoville in the middle of the past school year.
Curtis Harrington led the Wildcats with 13 points and Goodlow scored 10.
“It’s good competition. I wanted to come out and show them that I still got it,” Goodlow said. “I tried to do the best I could. ”
Rashad Steele led Romeoville with 12 points.
