Chicago Suburban News, 12/28/05

By Mike Knapp
Staff Writer

AURORA — Back to the grind.

One night after an easy 73-43 win over Orr to open the East Aurora Holiday Tournament and break a three-game losing streak, the host Tomcats were back into the type of game that they have warily gotten used to lately.

Playing a gutty Wheaton Academy team in the second night of pool play, East finally put away a 79-77 win when Shaun Collins nailed two free throws with 2.7 seconds to go in the second overtime.

Collins, who led all scorers with 30 points, got off to a quick start, with 11 points in the first quarter and 28 points after three. After that, the Warriors clamped the defense down on the 6-foot-2 junior, and while Justin Tiner (21 points) and Marshall Straughter (12 points, seven rebounds) took over the offense, Collins worked as a pretty potent decoy.

But as the clock wound down in the second overtime session and the score tied at 77-all, Collins found himself with the ball between the circles about 25 feet from the basket. As he rose up for the potential game-winner, he was smacked on the wrist by Jeremy Parker, then calmly stepped to the line and knocked down two of his three free throws.

"I like to be put in those situations, so it wasn't that different for me," said Collins, who spent close to the entire 40 minutes on the floor. "I just give a lot of credit to the referee for making that call, because a lot of the time they won't end the game on free throws. But he fouled me, so they called it."

From halftime, where Wheaton Academy held a 41-37 lead, until the end of the game, neither team led by more than four points. The lead changed more than a dozen times, and each team took a turn shooting for the win at the end of regulation and overtime.

After forcing Jason VanderVeen (20 points, 11 assists) into a bad shot and a 35-second shot clock violation with 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 64-all, Tiner brought the ball down and missed an 18-footer as time expired to send the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, VanderVeen canned two free throws to give the Warriors a 70-68 lead, then Straughter tied it when he banked in a jumper with 38 seconds to go. Playing for the win, Wheaton Academy ran the clock down before Parker (18 points) missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left to make a second OT necessary.

East jumped out to a four-point lead to start the second overtime but found itself down again (77-76) when John Tillery (16 points) made two free throws with 45 seconds to go. Tiner was fouled driving to the hoop on the subsequent possession, and made a free throw with 21 seconds to play.

He missed the second, but Rodrick Finley hustled for the rebound that kept the ball on the East side and set up Collins' heroics.

Despite its best efforts, East just couldn't shake the Warriors, who played well together as a team, shooting 56 percent for the game and notching an amazing 24 assists on their 30 field goals, 10 of which were 3-pointers.

"I give these guys a lot of credit," said Tomcats coach Wendell Jeffries. "Wheaton Academy is a very well-coached team. They are very disciplined and can shoot the ball."

It also didn't help the Tomcats any that they were very short-handed. Starting point guard Isiah Anderson and sixth man Isaac Muhammad didn't dress for the game, backup Clarence Calhoun played limited minutes because of the flu, and center Erick Aranda was taken from the floor in the third quarter with a serious injury to his left leg.

By the game's late stages, Jeffries looked down his bench and realized he was down to just seven players — not usually the recipe for success in a 40-minute game that was played at a quick pace.

"The bottom line in tournament play is just to advance, and while we were short-handed, we just wanted to pull the win out," Jeffries said. "It was a gritty performance."

East will close out pool play when it takes on Tampa Catholic at 8 p.m. A win would more than likely set up a matchup with unbeaten Bolingbrook and DePaul-bound senior Will Walker.

It would also be a rematch of last year's title game, which Bolingbrook won by 11 points.

"We still have to win (tonight's) game," Collins said, "but if we could get to that game and win, that would be a big confidence boost to us."