Boys Basketball: L-W East Denies L-W Central

Lincoln-Way East 34, Lincoln-Way Central 29: Tommy DiNaso's heroic defensive play enables the Griffins to escape with a narrow victory over the Knights Friday night in New Lenox.

The Skinny: Tommy DiNaso didn’t have to score a single point to make his point in Lincoln-Way East’s 34-29 boys basketball victory over district rival Lincoln-Way Central Friday night in New Lenox. Defense wins games. DiNaso, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, blocked a potential game-tying three-pointer by Central’s Joe Newtoff with 7.7 seconds left. The ball kicked out of bounds and the Knights retained possession. Brad Bass missed on another three-pointer. East’s Eric Spudic rebounded and was fouled. Spudic hit two free throws and East (7-7, 1-4) climbed back to the .500 mark and notched its first win in Southwest Suburban Blue Conference play. The Griffins also upped their record to 2-1 this season against Central. The Knights made three …

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Boys Basketball: L-W North Halts L-W Central Comeback Bid

Lincoln-Way North 53, Lincoln-Way Central 47: Daryle Morgan scored 12 points in the first quarter as the Phoenix jumped on district rival L-W Central on Wednesday night in play at the Medieval Classic.

The Skinny: Lincoln-Way North will enter Thursday's Medieval Classic championship game against Lincoln-Way East on a high note after defeating Lincoln-Way Central 53-47 on Wednesday. The Phoenix got excellent book-end performances from Daryle Morgan and Trevon Lewis. Morgan started the game for L-W North with 12 first-quarter points, and Lewis closed out the game with 13 second-half points. Morgan's big first quarter was huge in the Phoenix's 8-0 run early on. The Knights then went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 13 before the Phoenix began to dig in on the defensive end. The Knights would never have the lead, though they cut into the Phoenix's 13-point advantage late in the fourth quarter. Patch MVP: Lincoln-Way North's Daryle Morgan had …

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Boys Basketball: Funkhouser, Oak Forest Hit L-W Central With a 3-Point Barrage

Oak Forest 63, Lincoln-Way Central 54: Kyle Funkhouser made five 3-pointers and scored 18 points to pace the Bengals in pool play Tuesday in the Medieval Classic at Lincoln-Way North.

The Skinny: Kyle Funkhouser’s 90-mph fastball is legendary in high school baseball circles. His three-point shooting soon will be the talk of the prep basketball world if he keeps on blistering the nets. Funkhouser rained down five 3s in Oak Forest’s 63-54 boys basketball victory over Lincoln-Way Central on Tuesday afternoon in pool play in the Medieval Classic at Lincoln-Way North. He scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting. And he teamed with Tim Loeding to deny Lincoln-Way Central’s 6-foot-8 Brad Foster the ball as the Bengals used a 13-2 third-quarter run to pull away. The two teams were deadlocked 30-30 at halftime. Oak Forest made 11-of-14 three-pointers. The hot shooting followed on the heels of an ice-cold 3-for-27 performance by the …

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L-W Central's Foster Finding Ways to Eat Up Double Teams

Lincoln-Way Central's 6-foot-8 Brad Foster has grown accustomed to drawing a crowd around the basket. But he continues to get the job done for the Knights as he demonstrated in Wednesday night's win over Lincoln-Way West.

In the locker room following Lincoln-Way Central’s 47-43 boys basketball victory over Lincoln-Way West, Central athletic director Hud Venerable delivered a few stirring comments to the Knights—and delivered three pizzas. To 6-foot-8 Brad Foster. Foster scored 23 points, hauled down eight rebounds and blocked four shots in a performance on Wednesday night that was a mirror-image of what he’s been doing for the Knights (5-5) from the season’s opening tip. “It’s like what our athletic director here said, Mr. Venerable. It’s got to start with someone,” Central coach Bob Curran said. “He’s been our foundation this year. I want to say he’s averaging 17 (points) and 11 (rebounds), and that’s with teams all over him, double-teaming down low.” West…

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Boys Basketball: Bolingbrook Batters L-W Central

Bolingbrook uses second-quarter surge to pull away from Lincoln-Way Central in 76-48 boys basketball victory Friday night.

Boys Basketball: L-W Central Falls to Thornton Fractional South

Lincoln-Way Central comes up short in title game of Pheast of Phoenix Thanksgiving Tournament.

Extra Points: Lincoln Way Central Says 'Good Knight'

Harsh reality: Only a handful of teams in IHSA boys basketball are fortunate enough to win their final game.

Lincoln Way Central dropped its final game of the boys basketball season to Southwest Suburban Blue rival Lockport 45-22 in semifinal play Tuesday at the Class 4A Stagg Regional. “We had a big win against Joliet West (Monday night), and with 16 minutes left we were only six points down," Lincoln-Way Central coach Bob Curran said. "We honestly thought we could pull this game out. “We just could not get second shots. Lockport fought for every rebound and found a way to get a good shot on the majority of its possessions. It was a battle out there, but we lost. We won’t hang our heads. We had a good season, and I am proud of my team." “They played us differently than they did earlier this year when we lost 43-26," Lincoln-Way Central's Brad …

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Analysis: L-W Central Does It with Defense, Rebounding and Free-Throw Shooting

Knights don't make a field goal in the fourth quarter of Monday night's sectional win, but they make 14 free throws.

Lincoln-Way Central had quite the size advantage in Monday night's Stagg Regional boys basketball game against Joliet Central. At 6-foot-2, Darius Norris was the tallest player in the starting lineup for Joliet Central. Also at 6-foot-2 was Knights guard Johnny Finnin, who was the shortest starter for Lincoln-Way Central. The Knights were able to use the size disparity to their advantage from the opening tip. Junior Brad Foster, who stands at 6-foot-8, collected six of his game-high 12 rebounds in the first quarter as the Knights pulled ahead to a 15-4 lead.  "They really couldn't hit any shots from the outside and we did a nice job of boxing out and keeping them out of the lane," Foster said. "I think the rebounding helped our energy and …

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Boys Basketball: Lincoln-Way Central Pulls Away for Regional Quarterfinal Victory

L-W Central 45, Joliet Central 30. Knights outsize Steelmen and use a 7-0 run in the second half to prevail in Stagg Regional play.

The Hot Read: Lincoln-Way Central led 15-4 after one quarter Monday night but allowed the Steelmen to rally to trail by only 24-20 at halftime. The Knights opened the second half with a 7-0 run and led by no less than five points the rest of the way en route to a 45-30 victory in a Stagg Regional quarterfinal game. The Knights made the Steelmen pay by knocking down their free throws in the second half. Related: See our Boys Basketball Regionals Central for schedules, scores and analysis. Patch's MVP: At 6-foot-8, Lincoln-Way Central junior Brad Foster caused some problems for the Steelmen and finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. Key Stats: The Knights outrebounded the Steelmen 40-18. Put it this way: Lincoln-Way Central's …

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Extra Points: H-F Seniors in Sync vs. LW-Central

A tandem of Viking senior guards helped push Homewood-Flossmoor past Lincoln-Way Central and to a perfect conference season Friday night.

For Homewood-Flossmoor senior guard Julian Lewis, Senior Night was special. “Out of the six seniors, I’ve been playing with five of them since junior high,” Lewis said. “So it means a lot.” The Vikings defeated Lincoln-Way Central 56-43 Friday night, and it was the guard tandem of Lewis and fellow senior David Fatoki that led the way. Lewis poured in 15 points while Fatoki had nine assists and eight steals. Lewis and Fatoki have had a long time to learn each other’s tendencies and strengths because they’ve been playing together since second grade. The crowd was pumped up to honor the seniors before the game, and that energy transferred over to the game, as the Vikings forced seven Lincoln-Way Central first-quarter turnovers. “The whole …

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