Eight straight free throws in the final minute Tuesday were enough for No. 5 Westinghouse to hold off No. 18 Prosser 81-77 and help erase a miserable 13-of-30 effort from the line in Sunday’s loss to Homewood-Flossmoor.
The gritty road win also avenged a loss in the same gym last year to the Falcons. It came a day after Westinghouse coach Quitman Dillard gave his squad ample incentive to improve its efficiency from the line in Tuesday’s Public League Red Northwest game when the Warriors (14-2, 5-0) made good on 30-of-43 free-throw attempts.
“Coach [Dillard] made us run for missed free throws in practice [Monday], and we were running like crazy,” said Westinghouse swingman Jamarcus Ellis, who made four of the eight free throws down the stretch despite a sprained ankle suffered late in the third quarter. “It’s all about concentration from the line, and I felt comfortable shooting them down the stretch.”
After Prosser senior guard Perrick Robinson hit a three-pointer with 45 seconds left to tie the game 75-75, Ellis hit two free throws with 37 seconds left to put the Warriors ahead.
Johnny Collier blocked Jason Bowden’s jumper on the other end and Ellis put through two more free throws to put the Warriors up by four with 26 seconds left.
Bowden and Collier traded two free throws apiece in the final 15 seconds for the final points of the game.
The Warriors wouldn’t have been in position to ice the game without the sterling efforts of Ellis, who scored a game-high 26 points, and junior center DeAndre Thomas, who tallied 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds despite constant double- and triple-teaming in the post.
“My whole key down low is to be patient and to get into a comfort zone,” Thomas said. “If they’re collapsing on me, I can pitch it out and I know we have guys who can hit the outside shot.”
The game was tied 57-57 in the first minute of the fourth quarter, but Westinghouse scored seven straight points for its largest lead at 64-57. Ellis’ three-point play put the Warriors up 73-66 with two minutes left. Corey Williams’ basket and four free throws by Robinson (24 points) brought the Falcons (13-4, 2-3) to within 73-72 with 1:09 remaining.
