It wasn’t for a sectional, regional or even conference championship. But don’t try telling No. 18 Thornton that its 72-70 overtime victory Friday over No. 1 Homewood-Flossmoor wasn’t important.
“This is a huge win,” said the Wildcats’ Levante Greenwood, who led his team with 19 points and five assists. “This will give us some momentum, and I think we sent a message.”
Greenwood sent his own message, draining five three-pointers in eight attempts. His final three-pointer came 14 seconds into overtime and gave host Thornton (17-8, 6-4 SICA East) a 66-63 lead it did not relinquish.
The Wildcats couldn’t breathe easy until less than a minute remained. H-F’s Excell Hardy (game-high 27 points) missed a three with his team down 68-65, and Joevan Catron (17 points, 11 rebounds) pulled down the rebound for Thornton. He found Robert Bush racing alone down court, and Bush threw down a ferocious dunk with 26 seconds left for a 70-65 advantage.
After the teams traded free throws, H-F (24-2, 8-2) got a meaningless three-pointer from Julian Wright (12 points) with two seconds left to account for the final score.
Greenwood had hit consecutive three-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark a 13-2 Thornton run and put the Wildcats on top 63-61 with 38 seconds left.
But Wright found Hardy for an uncontested layup with 10 ticks left to send the game to OT.
