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Red Devils put clamps on WSC Silver title
Hinsdale, IL - Tuesday, February 12, 2013: Hinsdale Central's Matt Rafferty (32) works a shot vs York's Justin Kurash (34). | Steve Johnston~for Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 18, 2013 4:35PM
HINSDALE — York’s two games against Hinsdale Central this season proved to be frustrating experiences for the Dukes’ offense.
York could never find a solution to the Red Devils’ man-to-man defense. On Tuesday night, Hinsdale Central clinched its first West Suburban Silver title since 2000 with a 54-39 victory over the visiting Dukes. Colorado State-bound guard David Cohn of York was limited to seven points on 3-of-15 shooting and didn’t score in the second half.
In the first meeting Dec. 15, Cohn scored six points on 1-of-13 shooting in a 53-46 loss to Hinsdale. That defeat was York’s first in the conference.
In Tuesday’s rematch, senior Jared Eck drew the defensive assignment against Cohn, who missed all five of his shots after the half.
“I told Jared — actually I told all the guys — ‘Defense was going to be the key tonight,’ ” said third-year Devils coach Nick Latorre. “It was a team effort. There’s no question. Everyone contributed.”
Brian Owens paced the Devils with 17 points while leading scorer Matt Rafferty contributed 15 points and six rebounds. Eight of Rafferty’s points came in the first quarter. York (19-6, 8-3) scored just 13 points in the first half after shooting 5-for-22 from the field. In the first game, the Devils limited York to 17 points in the first half.
“We have worked our butts off over the summer and during the season,” Owens said. “None of this came by luck.”
Hinsdale (17-5, 10-1) won its 11th consecutive game going back to a 61-59 loss to Hillcrest on a 3-point buzzer-beater at the Proviso West Holiday tournament.
The Dukes went more than five minutes without a basket to begin the third quarter and trailed 35-21 after three quarters. Frank Toohey had eight points and six rebounds to lead York, which had its four-game win streak end.
“We had a tough time shooting tonight,” York coach Vince Doran said. “You have to give Hinsdale Central credit. They played really well defensively. Unfortunately, that’s the way it goes sometimes. We couldn’t hit (shots).
In the third quarter, Owens fired a bullet full-court pass to Ian Bunting, who scored on a layup and was fouled to give the Devils a 29-15 lead. The play came straight out of a football playbook during the fall when Owens, the team’s starting quarterback, connected to Bunting, one of his favorite receiving targets.
The Devils have won 18 conference titles since 1924 and will likely meet Proviso East (19-3) in the West Suburban Crossover title game at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20.
