Boys Basketball: Joliet Central tops Bolingbrook in OT
By Tina Akouris takouris@suntimes.com January 18, 2013 11:36PM
Joliet Central's Jalen Health (left) and Jarvis Northington pressure Bolingbrook's Ben Moore. | Mary Beth Nolan~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 21, 2013 6:35AM
Jalen Heath scored a career-high 30 points Friday night to lead visiting Joliet Central to a 55-51 overtime upset of top-ranked Bolingbrook in a SouthWest Suburban Blue contest.
“It’s a conference win. It was a total team effort,” Heath said. “We just had to get in the flow and the rhythm. We knew we had to make our free throws. Those were huge.”
Eddie McElrath went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 40.8 seconds of overtime to ice the win for the Steelmen.
The victory marks the first time this season the Steelmen (10-7, 5-1) — who are alone atop the SouthWest Suburban Blue — have beaten an above-.500 team.
Central was without starting guard and leading scorer Jonah Coble. Central coach Jeff Corcoran said Coble had to sit because of a violation of team rules, but did not get into specifics. Coble was on the bench during the game, sitting with his teammates and wearing his warm-ups.
It’s the second time this season Coble has had a disciplinary issue. Last month, Coble and four other Steelmen sat out the first half of Joliet Central’s game at Lincoln-Way Central for a violation of team rules. Corcoran said Coble will not play Monday against Mount Carmel in Central’s MLK Day of Hoops.
The Steelmen could have used Coble in the second quarter, when both teams’ offenses stalled. Bolingbrook outscored Central 9-4 in the second quarter.
Central took a 45-44 lead with 2:37 remaining in the fourth quarter on Heath’s jumper. The Steelmen increased their lead to 47-44 on two Heath free throws with just under 1:50 to play in regulation.
Bolingbrook’s Prentiss Nixon tied things at 47 with a three-pointer at the 1:45 mark. The Raiders held the ball for the final 1:30 of regulation for the final shot, but Nixon’s three-point try was off the mark as time ran out.
Kenneth Williams led the Raiders with 17 points. Ben Moore added 14 points.
