Porters upset H-F with last shot

FLOSSMOOR | It came down to the last shot. Lockport's Porters senior guard Courtney Cole, made it, an 8-foot floater from the left side with 14 seconds remaining.

Homewood-Flossmoor, after Tyrone Sherman lost control of the ball driving into the lane, never got one away.

Those two plays made the difference in Lockport's 52-50 upset of the Vikings, and the end of fourth-ranked H-F's undefeated conference season in their half-empty home gym. With a game remaining before Wednesday's playoff seeding meeting, H-F is 15-6, 8-1 in the SouthWest Suburban Blue.

"Sometimes we lost focus," Vikings coach Jim McLaughlin said. "It's a learning process. The first thing we have to learn is preparation. Lockport took us to overtime last time we played them. They were no secret."

The Porters were less flat than the hosts, and led 24-21 at halftime. Then McLaughlin started a junior-heavy lineup, featuring Maurius Hill, to start the second half, and H-F scored 10 straight points in about two minutes to take a 31-24 lead. Hill scored five of the points en route to his total of 11.

"What happened next was us not giving them second shots," Lockport coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. said.

Something else happened, McLaughlin explained.

"Then we put the seniors back in and things fell apart," McLaughlin said.

Not completely, though Lockport regained the lead on Brandon Sawin's jumper as time expired in the third quarter, setting the stage for a rollicking fourth.

The Porters led 50-45 with 1:25 to play, but senior Delvon Rencer drilled a 3-pointer with 1:07 to play, and after a fierce defensive series, hit a pair of free-throws with 42 seconds left to tie the game.

The Porters (13-8, 4-5) worked the ball around until Cole (12 points) found himself with the ball on the left side of the court, with Vikings, including Tim Williams (12 points) coming his way.

"I spun back," Cole said. "I practice the floater, and I knew I had to get it over them."

He did, swishing his shot and then rushing back on defense. Sherman, who scored all eight of his points in the final quarter, eventually made it to the lane, but the ball bounced away from him, and the Vikings' last chance was gone in the final seconds.