Extra Points: H-F's Sherman is a Tank at Free-Throw Line

Homewood-Flossmoor junior Tyrone Sherman had plenty of reasons to be nervous in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Class 4A Plainfield Central Regional championship game.

None of them fazed him, however.

Sherman calmly sank 9-of-10 free throws to help the Vikings fend off an upset bid by the host Wildcats 58-51 in front of a boisterous crowd in Plainfield.

“I didn’t feel any pressure,” said Sherman, who says he shoots ‘high 80 percent’ from the free-throw line. “I was very relaxed. One of my teammates on the bench just told me to shoot it and let it flow and that’s what I did. I work on them every day in practice. It’s natural for me.”

Thanks in part to Sherman’s clutch shooting, the Vikings (23-5) held on for a victory to earn the program’s eighth straight regional title.

The Vikings, who are seeded No. 3 in the Thornwood Sectional, made 14-of-17 free throws in the final eight minutes to hold off No. 7 Plainfield Central (19-9). In addition to Sherman, Julian Lewis made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch and David Fatoki made a pair of clutch shots from the line.

“You have to give Tyrone Sherman a lot of credit,” McLaughlin said. “He knocked down the free throws.”

Sherman fed off the crowd and finished with a game-high 21 points and five steals in the victory.

“The crowd did fire me up,” Sherman said. “Their crowd fired me up, but also our crowd. I like to make the other crowd quiet and get them out of the game.”

Homewood-Flossmoor now has some unfinished business.

The Vikings will take on No. 2 Crete-Monee in the Thornwood Sectional semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Warriors (23-3) beat Bloom Township 52-49 Friday in the Crete-Monee Regional final and have now won 15 of 16 games, including a 67-62 win over H-F Jan. 18 in Crete.

“We want another shot at them,” Sherman said. “They better be ready.”

H-F, which lost to Joliet Township in the sectional semifinals last season, is seeking its first sectional championship since the 2005-06 season and earned its last state berth in 2003-04.

“We’re determined to get over the sectional (hump) and get past the Supersectional,” Sherman said. “Last year, we got knocked off by Joliet (Township), which was like a fluke. This year, we’re coming back strong and trying to win everything.”

The sectional’s top four seeds are all still alive. The winner of the H-F and Crete-Monee game will face the winner of No. 1 Thornton and No. 4 Lockport March 11 in the sectional championship game.

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