A flurry of put-back baskets by Antoine Gillespie and Tom Kleinschmidt at the end of the first half was the story of Gordon Tech`s 23nd straight victory Tuesday night.
One moment, Proviso West led 28-27. Then the 6-foot-4-inch Gillespie and 6-5 Kleinschmidt crashed the offensive boards against 6-9 Dave Broz and 6-10 Art Wallace, and the Rams` juniors beat the bigger Panthers for three straight rebound baskets.
Suddenly, the Rams had a 36-30 halftime lead and were cruising toward an eventual 84-73 victory and a Friday date for the York Sectional title against the winner of Wednesday`s Proviso East-St. Joseph`s showdown.
For the evening, Kleinschmidt scored 32 points. Gillespie had 19 and nine rebounds. Neither seemed surprised at his ability to put down the key rebound baskets.
”Proviso West`s big men were strong, but they didn`t box out real well,” said Gillespie. ”I think we surprised them by attacking the boards the way we did.”
Kleinschmidt collected his points on two three-point bombs, jumpers, driving layups and pullup shots as well as his offensive board work.
”Our defense and our offensive rebounding gives us easy points,” said Kleinschmidt. ”Our guards do a great job but don`t get enough credit.
”We`re not bothered when we face great size. We`ll run and break. And we`ll press and hit the boards.”
Broz and Wallace scored just 13 and 10 points. Proviso West`s firepower offensively came from its guards. Mike Chambers and Jeff Zimmerman scored 17 and 15 points, each connecting three times from three-point range.
Gordon coach Steve Pappas saw only one disappointing spot, foul shooting. Gordon, a team that has shot 68 percent from the line for the season, missed 14 of its first 18 free throws and totaled only 14 of 36 for the night.
”Our only consistents all year have been our togetherness and our defense,” said Pappas after the Rams improved their record to 26-1. ”We play nine or 10 men and sustain the pressure for 32 minutes. The press is the key to our success.”
