The Minooka boys varsity basketball team played well in the clutch to get a solid win at Plainfield North on Dec. 7 against the Tigers. They won 45-39 at the conference game.

The game came down to the wire. Minooka struggled in the first quarter, only scoring 2 points. But, they did a great job of having a short memory and bounced back in the second quarter.

“We talk about always getting to the next play,” head coach Kevin Cain said after the game. “You can’t think about the previous play, you got to just control what you can control and get to the next play.”

They did just that, and a crowd-silencing 3-pointer from Ricky Hill swung the momentum in Minooka’s favor. The Indians scored 19 points in the second quarter, which gave them the lead 21-15 at the half. 

The Tigers started to creep back into the game in the third quarter, but a great 3-ball from Trevor Hudak kept the Indians up 34-33. Hudak had a good game from beyond the arc, scoring 9 points from 3-point range.

In the fourth quarter, a stifling defense was what kept Minooka in the lead. They only allowed 6 points all quarter, and that was all she wrote. A layup from Hill and a steal from Cade Ooms later, and Minooka won it.

The boys benefited from a great mentality during clutch situations. They managed to stay focused and on course throughout the game, and it gave them the win in the end. 

“We’re just thinking we got to whatever it takes in order to be successful and come out with the W,” senior Adrien-Lawrence Manning said. “I know we started off slow… but as long as we put our pieces together, and do what we need to do, I feel like getting the win was all that matters.”

The player of the game was Hill, who scored 19 points and was a key piece in the victory. He showed off his range with a 3 and made his presence known on defense with multiple steals.

“I feel like as a team we’re just getting started,” Hill said.  “We still haven’t scratched the surface on what we can do as a team and I feel like we’re going to improve on that.”

Also contributing to the win were Hudak with 11 points, Nick Andreano with 5 points, Manning with 4 points, Darren Anderson with 4 points, Preston Van Pelt with 2 points, and Ooms with key steals and rebounds.

The team will move on to play their first home game of the season against Yorkville on Dec. 10. This win improved their record to 4-2 on the season.