Thunderbolts outlast Thunderbirds in SWSC showdown

SOUTH HOLLAND | Crunch time usually comes in the final few minutes of a game.

For Thornwood, it came in Sunday's third quarter, and it was Andrew doing the crunching in the course of its 48-45 victory against the Thunderbirds in the SWSC Red showdown.

The Thunderbolts held the Times' fifth-ranked team to three points in the quarter, and led by as many as nine points in the fourth before Thornwood's late rally fell short.

The outcome gave Andrew (16-0, 7-0) a sweep of the first half of the conference schedule. Thornwood dropped to 12-6, 6-1, and has several formidable foes, including Bradley, Rich South and Stagg, on the schedule before the rematch with the Thunderbolts in Tinley Park on Feb. 21.

"Our first goal is to win the conference, but I also told our players that it's a marathon, not a sprint," Thornwood coach Paul Slavich said. "We want to prepare for the postseason."

Andrew, which trailed by three at the half, defended more aggressively in the third quarter, and the Thunderbirds couldn't answer.

"They switched their wings and took our entry passes away," Slavich said, "but we didn't help ourselves by not coming out to accept the passes. We were stagnant."

The spotlight in a game delayed nine days by a snowstorm ended up on Andrew's Adekoya brothers. Jubril, the junior, scored 11 points, pulled down five rebounds and handed out three assists, two on passes his brother, senior Jawad, converted into baskets. He scored 15 points and had five rebounds. That 1-2 punch was too much for the Thunderbirds.

By the end, Thornwood's offense revolved around center Khapri Alston, who finished with a game-high 16 points and grabbed five of his eight rebounds on the offensive glass, and guard Darrell Combs, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the final eight minutes. Combs scored three baskets and added a free throw in a span of 36 seconds in the final ninety seconds, cutting Andrew's nine-point lead to two, but Jubril Adekoya hit one free throw and Jawad added a pair with 17 seconds to play, finishing the hosts off.

"Jubril is tough; he goes to the basket," Slavich said. "I wish he'd picked up his fifth foul a little earlier (than with 12.2 seconds left)."

In part because of its defensive prowess, Andrew controlled the pace of the game. Thornwood led 23-20 at the half.

"I told the guys before the game, 'This is going to be a Big Ten game,' " Andrew coach Mike O'Halloran said. "It's going to be in the 40s and it's going to come down to one possession. I wish I had that kind of luck in predicting at some other places I go."

At the moment, O'Halloran has the winning ticket in hand.