This is a different Proviso East team.
The Pirates don’t have the high-flying act of their 1991 state champions. They don’t really score points like last year’s state champion Pirates, either.
But what the two-time defending state champions do have this season is plenty of experience.
That’s what has pulled Proviso East through several games this year, and that’s the reason it is making its third straight trip to Champaign.
The Pirates coolly held off Thornton in front of 3,453 Tuesday at the Hinsdale Central supersectional, stopping the Wildcats 76-66 to move into a matchup Friday against top-ranked King in the Class AA quarterfinals.
Except for a brief period at the game’s outset, Proviso East (26-4) never trailed. The Pirates led by as many as 14 points in the final quarter, and they didn’t panic when Thornton (28-2) trimmed the gap to 67-61 with 52 seconds left on James Turner’s layup.
But the Pirates weren’t necessarily flawless, especially in the final quarter. They let Thornton back into the game with the help of six turnovers, and had 19 for the game. They also committed a couple of almost costly mistakes, too.
After Proviso had managed to get its lead back up to 71-61 with :30 left, Tomnee Stockdale fouled Thornton’s Michael Allen on a three-point attempt 10 seconds later. Allen hit the three free throws, cutting Proviso’s lead to 71-64.
“We made that game a little more difficult than it needed to be,” said Proviso East coach Bill Hitt.
But the Pirates held on, experience pulling them through.
“Experience and talent,” said Proviso East guard Kenny Davis, proving both with his game-high 24 points. “And we were a little quicker than they were. But we wouldn’t have been able to handle them coming back on us if we hadn’t been there before. This is nothing new to us.”
Certainly not to Davis and Ray Gay, members of the two previous championship teams.
Davis and Gay carried the Pirates in the first quarter. After Thornton had sprinted out to a 7-2 lead, Gay scored six points and Davis hit a three-pointer as Proviso went on an 11-0 run to take a 13-7 lead.
Proviso led 20-17 after the first quarter, and behind Davis’ 15 first-half points, led 36-28 at halftime.
The Pirates then broke the game open in the second half, taking their biggest lead of the game-47-31-on a Davis three-pointer with 4:30 left in the third quarter.
Proviso, which also got 18 points from Kevin Jones, kept its lead in double figures for much of the remainder of the game until Thornton made its fourth-quarter run.
“We just spent the rest of the game trying to dig ourselves out of quicksand,” said Thornton coach Sam Cameli.
That was made even harder with Allen, Thornton’s leading scorer, being held to a quiet 19 points.
“When you’re able to control Michael,” Cameli said, “we can’t go to that next level, and when we can’t get to that next level . . . well, we have our second loss.”
