Boys Basketball: Lincoln-Way Central falls to Evergreen Park
By Logan Malloy For Sun-Times Media December 12, 2011 11:30PM
Evergreen Park’s Morgan Murphy goes to the hoop against Lincoln-Way Central’s Brad Foster. | Brett Roseman~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: December 10, 2012 9:00PM
With only 12 points in the first half, it didn’t appear the Evergreen Park boys basketball team carried enough offensive fireworks into Monday night’s game against Lincoln-Way Central.
As it turned out, Mustangs point guard Brandon White was saving the explosion for the second half.
White scored 18 of his 23 points in the final two quarters as the junior led Evergreen Park to a 41-40 victory in New Lenox.
The win gave Evergreen Park (4-7) its first two-game win streak of the season.
“Brandon is a warrior for us,” Mustangs coach Pat Flannigan said. “He’s been battling some knee problems, so sometimes he gets tired out there. But we look to him for a lot of leadership.”
With Evergreen Park down 20-12 at the half, White scored the first five points of the third quarter to give his team a lift. The Mustangs began to lock down defensively, and their full-court pressure gave Lincoln-Way fits.
“We were giving up some easy layins, but we were creating turnovers,” Flannigan said. “I thought our pressure gave us a better tempo.”
Lincoln-Way Central (4-5) was at its best looking for center Brad Foster (21 points) while pushing the ball around the horn. The senior gave Central a 28-26 lead on a third-quarter dunk after breaking through the Evergreen Park press, but the Knights could not consistently threaten in the second half.
“[Evergreen Park] was patient and finished on long possessions,” Central coach Bob Curran said. “When we had the ball, they turned us over way too much.”
Evergreen Park’s Morgan Murphy (three assists) and sophomore Jacquet McClendon (six points) chipped in with solid performances.
