Plainfield’s Ryan Sharp knew he was a marked man as he drove the lane with six seconds to play and his team locked in a tie with host Morris on Friday night.
But the Wildcats guard kept his cool. Despite two Morris defenders in his face, he also spotted teammate Kyle Jackson in position under the bucket.
Sharp fired the ball to Jackson, who banked home the game-winning basket with less than a second remaining for a 62-60 Suburban Prairie South victory.
“We knew they were coming out on me because I was making my shots a lot,” said Sharp, who closed with 21 points, including 18 in the second half.
“Coach [Dave Stephens] said, `Just drive, and if you’re not open, dish it off because someone else will be open.'”
Jackson had a game-high 26 points as Plainfield (18-4, 7-0) eliminated Morris (10-5, 4-3) from the league championship race.
Redskins senior Zach Jones had forced the 60-60 tie with a bank shot with 33 seconds left. But Morris didn’t get another chance.
Plainfield brought the ball down court, then called a timeout with 15 seconds left.
Sharp handled the ball from half-court and worked several seconds off the clock before his drive for the hoop and dish to Jackson.
Jones paced Morris with 18 points, while teammate Eric Edwards added 15.
