Sooner or later, you knew it was going to happen: Sherell Ford and his Proviso East teammates were going to explode.
Leyden coach Norm Goodman knew it. ”I just hope we can stay close for three quarters,” he said before the game. ”Then . . .”
The Eagles came up a quarter short of their goal. Proviso East scored 28 points in the third quarter Friday night on the way to a 63-44 West Suburban Gold victory in Maywood.
”When you press as much as we do,” said Proviso coach Bill Hitt, ”if you believe in it and you`re not creating turnovers, you know you eventually will win. In the third quarter, we came out and scored a couple of baskets right away, and that got us rolling a little bit.”
The sixth-ranked Pirates (12-2 overall, 5-0 in the WSC Gold) expanded a 9-point lead to 23 in about 2 1/2 minutes. A 15-2 run, highlighted by a Ford dunk, ended any hope for a thin Eagle squad. The traditional Proviso East press finally got to the Eagles for seven turnovers in the period.
Ford didn`t score in the first or fourth quarters, but guard Eric Loury, who had 14 points, took the pressure off with his outside shooting. Ford scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the third period.
”I wasn`t frustrated at all,” said the 6-foot-6-inch junior. ”I was just patient, and my teammates did a great job when I couldn`t get the ball.” Proviso East, which has five players averaging in double figures, got 12 from Harry Powell and 9 from Eric Davis. Leyden was led by Dave Mattes with 14 and Joe Schaudek with 12. Pat Rochford, the Eagles` leading scorer this season, had just 6.
”He`s got to play better in big games, or he`ll play his last game in February,” said Goodman, who will retire after this season.
Leyden tried to not force the ball against the Pirates` constant pressure, and it worked early. Leyden stayed in striking distance by jealously guarding the ball. When the Eagles became a little careless, Proviso took advantage of 11 first-half turnovers for a 27-18 lead.
When Ford got the ball inside, Leyden was in trouble. His second of two 3-point plays started a 7-point run that put the Pirates in command.
Goodman, who knew his team had neither the quickness nor depth to stay with Proviso, wasn`t disappointed with the way the Eagles played as a unit.
”We did exactly what we wanted to do,” he said. ”We were just outquicked, outsized and outbenched. We weren`t outcoached. This is one of the best Proviso teams I`ve seen.”
