With his team trailing by a point with 2 minutes 31 seconds left, Homewood-Flossmoor coach Don Laketa called a timeout.
”I wanted to tell the kids what to do,” Laketa said. ”But they kept saying, `I know, I know.` They know what to do better than I do.”
Indeed, the Vikings knew exactly what to do Friday while posting a 39-36 victory over Rockford Boylan at Assembly Hall and advancing to the Class AA state semifinals Saturday against Springfield Lanphier at 11:15 a.m.
Expect that game to be close, because Homewood-Flossmoor knows no other way. The Vikings (25-4) won their three games before the East Aurora supersectional by a total of eight points. They needed a pair of one-point victories over Bloom Trail to win the South Inter-Conference Association East Division.
”We never seem to play in any blowouts,” said center Dick Seidel. ”All of our games are close. The experience is paying off.”
The experience helped Seidel become the hero Friday. The junior tipped in a Tracy Wilson shot to give Homewood-Flossmoor a 37-36 lead with 51 seconds remaining.
Boylan (29-3) had one final chance, but Steve Langley missed an 18-footer with eight seconds left. Seidel grabbed the rebound and was promptly fouled. He calmly stepped to the line and hit two free throws to ensure the victory.
”The last two free throws felt good,” said Seidel, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half. ”I knew I was going to make it.”
Once again, Homewood-Flossmoor`s defense came through. Boylan has a massive front line, led by 6-foot-7-inch Sonny Roberts, who had 13 points. But the Vikings held the Titans to 11-for-28 shooting from the floor and outrebounded them 24-17.
Boylan`s last shot was indicative of Homewood-Flossmoor`s defense. The Titans wanted to get the ball inside, but the Vikings completely shut off the middle.
”Our kids stayed with them on the boards and shut them down defensively,” Laketa said. ”I was very pleased with our defense. I did some chewing on our offense at halftime.”
The Vikings` offense never got going, guard Ken Ridgway leading the team with 12 points. But Seidel did come alive just in time in the second half.
”Dick rushed a few shots,” Laketa said. ”I told him to settle down, take it easy, stay in control and you`ll get your shot.”
Seidel will see plenty of shots coming from Lanphier`s Ed Horton Saturday. But Seidel and Homewood-Flossmoor rose to the occasion before when they collapsed on Hillcrest`s all-state center Jerry Jones in a regional overtime victory.
”How do you shut down a player like Horton?” Laketa said. ”Well, we did it against Jones. We played good sound ball in keeping Jones off the boards. Our kids met the challenge before. We hope to meet it again.”
