Boys basketball: Joliet West spanks Central
By Dick Goss dgoss@stmedianetwork.com January 6, 2012 11:44PM
Joliet West's Morris Dunnigan (left). | File photo
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Updated: February 10, 2012 8:32AM
The large crowd at the Joliet Central gym Friday night to watch the Steelmen take on rival Joliet West brought back pleasant memories of yesteryear.
But there was one huge issue. The home team picked a bad night to leave its “A” game packed in the duffel bags.
West, erasing memories of its 1-2 excursion to the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, went on runs of 11-0 and 16-0 in the first half in building a 42-20 lead en route to a 75-40 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory.
The Tigers (9-4, 3-1) forced the Steelmen (6-7, 2-2) into 16 first-half turnovers. The second half afforded both coaches the opportunity to clear their benches.
“We were up 10-7 (with three minutes left in the first quarter) and there was a little back-and-forth going on,” Steelmen coach Jeff Corcoran said. “We were handling the stress, their pressure.”
But then everything changed. Marlon Johnson, West’s 6-foot-9 senior center, made his presence felt in the lane and under the basket, and junior guard Ryan Modiest came off the bench with the mind-set of a master thief. His three steals, all resulting in points, were the catalyst to the 11-0 run that made it 18-10 after one quarter.
“Ryan was huge off the bench,” Tigers coach Luke Yaklich said. “He played with confidence and was strong.”
Junior guard Carl Terrell, who led West with 15 points, including three three-pointers, hit two triples and scored eight points in the 16-0 run late in the second quarter.
“Carl was terrific,” Yaklich said.
Johnson finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, helping the taller Tigers to a 40-21 rebounding edge. Morris Dunnigan scored 13 points, Brian Edwards 12 and Modiest eight. Curtis Parker and K.T. Carpenter each scored eight for Central.
“Defense turns on our offense,” Modiest said.
“He brings energy off the bench,” Terrell said of Modiest. “When we take care of the ball, we can play with anybody.”
In the instance, the result was blowing away the city rival on its floor.
“They’re a great team; there’s a reason they get the publicity they do,” Corcoran said of West. “But they aren’t 35 points better than us. You’ve got to have pride on your home floor. It’s not a sometimes thing.
“Tonight, we let someone do to us what we like to do to them.”
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