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Smith, Oswego East light up Hinsdale South in second half
Barret Benson (middle) of Hinsdale South is surrounded b y Oswego East defenders. | Jon Cunningham~For Sun-Times Media ORG XMIT: photojonc@gmail.com
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Updated: April 2, 2013 8:42PM
OSWEGO — Oswego East senior Scooter Smith knew that sharp-shooter CJ Vaughan would eventually break out of his shooting woes during Monday’s game against Hinsdale South.
The 6-foot-3 forward wasn’t about to wait for it to happen, though.
“As a senior on the team, I had to take responsibility. Rebounding the ball and scoring off put-backs and doing my duty as a team player,” Smith said after Oswego East pulled away to beat the Hornets 64-52 in the Class 4A Oswego East Regional quarterfinal. “I felt like I had to do the best that I could. Knowing this might be my last game here, I wanted to leave everything on the court. How do I want to go out and how do I want to remember this day? I just had to keep that in the back of my head.”
Oswego East (14-13), which is seeded No. 14 in the Bolingbrook Sectional, will take on No. 3 Neuqua Valley Tuesday in the regional semifinal.
Smith finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block.
“Scooter played out of his mind,” Oswego coach Ron Murphy said. “It’s big. Scoop did a great job of going to the offensive glass and I was really happy that he didn’t shy away from attacking the 6-8 kid (Barret Benson). He continued to attack and stayed aggressive.”
The Wolves led just 23-22 at the half, but broke the game open in the second half when Vaughn caught fire.
Vaughan, a three-year varsity starter, missed nine of his first 11 shots from the field before making 6-of-7 shots, including three 3-pointers, the rest of the way.
Vaughn finished with a game-high 20 points and collected eight rebounds and four steals.
“Shooter’s shoot,” Murphy said. “You either shoot or you’re doomed and he has that mentality. We knew we’d be OK. The quality of his looks got better in the second half.”
Hinsdale South (7-19), which was seeded No. 19, had 19 turnovers against the full-court press of the Wolves.
Senior Jerry Stoltz paced the Hornets with 14 points, while freshman Benson finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
“In the second half we got gassed a little,” Hinsdale South coach Tanner Mitchell said. “They’re so athletic and put so much pressure on the ball. They then just caught fire. I have to give my kids credit. I told them I’ll never be upset with you for a loss when you play with great effort and pride. I thought they did that tonight.”
Hinsdale South (7-19)
Jerry Stoltz 6 0-0 14, Larry Motuzis 2 0-0 5, Justin Ward 3 0-0 7, Antanas Riskus 2 1-2, 5, Barret Benson 5 2-3 12, Tyler Zampa 0 0-0 0, Evan Leake 2 0-0 4, D.J. Deolitsis 1 1-2 3, Peter Kokinis 0 0-0 0, Joe George 0 0-0 0, Matt Reschke 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 4-7 52.
Oswego East (14-13)
Tyler Ross 1 0-0 2, Scooter Smith 6 3-8 15, Mike McAllister 2 0-0 4, Kendall Dorsey 6 2-2 15, CJ Vaughan 8 0-0 20, Manny Contreras 2 0-0 6, Jeremy Mitchell 1 0-2 2, Jordan 0 0-0 0, James Callegari 0 0-0 0, Rob Davis 0 0-0 0, Nick Craft 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 5-12 64.
Hinsdale South 12-10-14-16 — 52
Oswego East 14-9-21-20 — 64
3-point goals — Hinsdale South 4 (Stoltz 2, Motuzis, Ward); Oswego East 7 (Vaughan 4, Contreras 2, Dorsey). Fouled out — None. Team fouls — Hinsdale South 9, Oswego East 9.
