On the Northridge boys basketball team’s first possession of its 59-39 Class 2A regional semifinal win over Sullivan, the ball swung around the perimeter and through the high post until it found Sam Thornton open on the right wing. The senior guard rose up and released a 3. Nothing but net. The very next possession the Knights found Thornton again, which led to the same result.
He was just getting started.
Before the game was four minutes old, Thornton was 4-for-4 from behind the arc and his jumper had single-handedly given Northridge a 12-2 lead on Wednesday in Niles. He credited the Knights’ ball movement with finding him in the right spots on the court.
“It’s a lot easier to make them when guys are getting you open,” said Thornton, an Arlington Heights resident. “That’s what we’ve been doing all season, I just have to shoot them. Yeah, confidence goes up (when I hit shots), but they’re getting me open every time.”
Thornton went to the bench without having missed a shot, and then it was fellow senior backcourt member Kiko Maso’s turn to get going for the Knights.
After making a layup late in the first quarter, Maso opened scoring in the second by knocking the ball out of a Sullivan player’s hands and driving the length of the court for an and-one layup. He knocked down the ensuing foul shot. Two possessions later, he banked in a free-throw line jumper, forcing a Sullivan timeout. Sullivan scored on its next possession, then Maso grabbed a rebound the next time Sullivan shot. He took it coast-to-coast and finished with a Euro step. That gave him nine points during an 11-4 Northridge run that put the Knights up 23-10 midway through the second quarter.
Northridge coach Will Rey said the seniors’ first-half play was representative of how they have performed all season.
“(Maso’s) been a really dynamic player for us all year,” Rey said. “He and Sam have been very consistent for us all year long, so no reason to expect that to be any different (in the playoffs).”
Eighth-seeded Sullivan (8-15) clawed its way back, going on a 9-2 run to cut the lead to just six early in the third quarter. It was back up to a nine-point lead late in the quarter when Thornton found himself open on the left wing again. The result was the same as in the first quarter, and the Knights (22-5) were up 12.
The game never got any closer. Thornton finished with 18 points, all triples.
Maso and Thornton make up two-thirds of the Knights’ backcourt. Ryan Haig, the only other senior on the roster, is the third member. Northridge lost in the regional final last year, but the high-scoring duo both said they aren’t thinking about that game now. Instead, they’re worried about playing basketball the same way they have all year, which led to the top seed in their sub-section of the Guerin Sectional. Still, Maso said it’s hard to avoid the fact that the seniors’ time together can be over at any time.
“It gives me shivers a little bit,” said Maso, a Chicago resident who finished with 13 points and four steals. “But it’s nice knowing I’ve got two great players, two great boys by my side. It’s a great feeling.”
Knights junior forward Vick Gadula added 12 points, all in the second half.
Northridge will play fourth-seeded St. Edward at 7 p.m. Friday for the Class 2A Northridge Regional title.
Jakub Rudnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
