There was a moment during the fourth quarter Tuesday night when a sense of reality hit Lincoln-Way North senior Alec Webber.
He’ll never play another game in the Phoenix’s gym.
In fact, with Lincoln-Way North closing at the end of the school year, this likely was the final varsity boys basketball game there.
“I took a little look at the Phoenix head and thought about all the time I spent in the gym playing games and watching games,” said Webber a 6-foot guard. “It was emotional. I just wish the outcome would have been different.”
That outcome was a 58-51 SouthWest Suburban Red victory by visiting Lincoln-Way West.
But Lincoln-Way North (10-16, 4-9) made its large student section proud to call themselves a Phoenix, trailing by as many as 13 points in the third quarter but never relenting in an attempt to rally.
Behind Dorian Aluyi (22 points) and Webber, the Phoenix caught fire. With 1:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, North cut the Warriors’ lead to 52-49 on Gabe Harris’ 3-pointer.
Lincoln-Way West (16-8, 8-5) has won six straight games. But if the Warriors had a look of “here we go again,” they couldn’t have been faulted.
On Jan. 22, North rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against West. The Phoenix forced overtime when Webber converted three free throws with 1.4 seconds left and pulled out a stunning 60-56 victory.
Could lightning strike twice?
Not quite. North turned the ball over trailing by three, which resulted in Cameron Gavin’s layup and 54-49 lead with 29.6 seconds to go.
The Phoenix were forced to foul and Marco Pettinato made them pay, burying four consecutive free throws.
As a matter of fact, Pettinato made North pay all night. The junior converted his first 10 field goal attempts, including a 3-pointer, and finished with a game-high 25 points.
“This was a revenge game for us,” Pettinato said. “We squandered the last game we played against them. I don’t want to say we gave it to them. It’s more like they took it from us. Their school closing is a big change for all of them. It has to be tough.”
Lincoln-Way North senior Jake McLaughlin admitted the realization of not only never again playing in the Phoenix gym, but not being able to visit the school in the ensuing years is extremely difficult.
“It’s kind of sad,” McLaughlin said. “It’s a bittersweet feeling, for sure. We were really fired up. It would have been nice to win this game.”
Jon Marotta and Jay Bumstead finished with nine points apiece for West, which shot a sizzling 62 percent (23-for-37).
Jaylin Branch added 15 points for North, which shot 42 percent (20-for-45).
“We talked about it before the game that this isn’t only the last time the seniors are going to play on this court but it’s the last time the underclassmen will play on this court and last time I’m going to coach on this court,” North coach John Terry said. “It was emotional, but I’m proud of my guys.”
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