Boys Basketball: Hinsdale South stays hot on the road, stops Blazers
By George M. Wilcox gwilcox@pioneerlocal.com February 10, 2012 10:06PM
Addison, 02/10/12--Hinsdale South's Phil George looks for an easy bucket during Friday's game at Addison Trail. | Jeff Krage~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 17, 2012 8:13AM
On the road, Hinsdale South has looked like warriors of late.
The Hornets won their third consecutive away game Friday night with a 56-34 victory at West Suburban Gold rival Addison Trail. The Blazers lost their eighth consecutive game and dropped seven in a row without injured sophomore guard and leading scorer James Pupillo.
“He’s going to rest and rehab and be back for the playoffs,” said Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons, who would not divulge Pupillo’s injury. “Obviously, he’s a big part of our offense.”
Without Pupillo, the Blazers (7-17, 0-10) shot only 4-of-16 from the floor in the first half and trailed 25-13 at halftime. Addison Trail rarely pushed the ball inside and made only one layup in the game. The Hinsdale South (12-10, 5-5) defense held an opponent to a season-low scoring total. The previous lowest score for a Hinsdale South opponent this season came in a 40-38 loss to Leyden Jan. 10.
Pupillo scored a game-high 21 points in the first meeting, a 67-54 win for Hinsdale South Jan. 6.
Senior guard Jerry Stoltz scored a game-high 17 points, including three three-pointers, for the Hornets while Brock Benson added 10 points and nine rebounds.
“(Without Pupillo), it definitely changes the game,” Stoltz said. “He’s probably their best player or one of their two best players. It’s definitely much easier.”
The Hornets broke away from Addison Trail by scoring the last 11 points of the first quarter to take an 18-5 lead after the first period. Hinsdale South shot 10 of 22 in the first half and four of the Hornets’ five starters scored before the half.
Justin Ward replaced usual starter Phil George, who made a rare appearance by coming off the bench for the Hornets and scored nine points.
Varinder Kalsi (six rebounds) made four three-pointers and finished with 14 points to lead the Blazers. Vince Beltrano, a standout from the conference championship football team, had 10 points and shot 6 of 9 from the free throw line. Addison Trail lost for the 13th time in its last 15 games. Its only wins during that period came in a pair of nonconference games against Fenton at the Glenbard West Holiday tournament Dec. 30 and at home Jan. 10.
“We know our conference is tough,” Lyons said. “We play Morton (Saturday). We know what’s ahead of us.”
Hinsdale South ended a four-game road stint, which started with a 71-59 loss at Proviso East Feb. 3. The Hornets have won at Lyons Township Feb. 4, at Morton Feb. 7 and now at Addison Trail.
“We are playing our best basketball of the year so far,” Hornets coach Vince Doran said. “We have three road wins in a row. That’s not an easy thing to do.”
The Hornets end the regular season with three home games, beginning Tuesday against Willowbrook and then Feb. 17 against Morton. For the first time, conference boys basketball teams will play their regular season finales as crossover games against the Silver conference Feb. 22.
“The coaches pushed for (crossover games),” Doran said. “We’re excited about it. We’re excited about the crossover no matter who we get.”
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