Extra Points: H-F Seniors in Sync vs. LW-Central

For Homewood-Flossmoor senior guard Julian Lewis, Senior Night was special.

“Out of the six seniors, I’ve been playing with five of them since junior high,” Lewis said. “So it means a lot.”

The , and it was the guard tandem of Lewis and fellow senior David Fatoki that led the way. Lewis poured in 15 points while Fatoki had nine assists and eight steals.

Lewis and Fatoki have had a long time to learn each other’s tendencies and strengths because they’ve been playing together since second grade.

The crowd was pumped up to honor the seniors before the game, and that energy transferred over to the game, as the Vikings forced seven Lincoln-Way Central first-quarter turnovers.

“The whole school, they were energized,” Lewis said. “We wanted to come out and get this win and end off our season right.”

Despite the energy in the building, Lincoln-Way Central calmed down enough to stay in the game. The Knights relied on their outside shooting ability to keep the score close, as they knocked down six three-pointers along with numerous other jumpers.

Lincoln-Way Central, then looked to junior center Brad Foster down low to get even closer. Down 38-26, the Knights went on a 14-5 run, during which Foster scored seven points.

“Especially when there’s multiple (big guys), it’s really hard because usually they’ll double-team you,” Foster said of the H-F front line. “So you have to find other ways. You have to use pump fakes or if you know you can’t score without getting it blocked, you have to kick it out.”

The Knights’ run pulled them within three points at 43-40, but H-F finished the game with a strong defensive effort.

Team Records: H-F: 21-5 overall, 14-0 in the Southwest Suburban Conference. Lincoln-Way Central: 11-18, 2-12 in the SSC.

H-F Eyes State Championship: Last year, the Vikings lost in sectionals. This year, H-F is eyeing a state championship. The road will be tough, as in its first game, the Vikings will face either Joliet West, the team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year, or Marian Catholic, a team that features dynamic freshman point guard Tyler Ulis. Looming down the road is a potential matchup with Crete-Monee in the sectional semifinals, and a potential meeting with Thornton in the sectional championship.

Lincoln-Way Central Prepares for Joliet Central: Knights coach Bob Curran said he’s concerned about turnovers and giving up offensive rebounds in the postseason.

 “I think it just comes down to worrying about ourselves. Obviously, we have a game plan for what they do, but we need to clean up our own game,” Curran said.

 Lincoln-Way Central plays Joliet Central at the Stagg Regional on Monday.