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DAY 3 at BIG Dipper

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Where do you start? The games E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E was waiting on was the night cap games featuring Hales taking on defending champion Thornton; and Crete-Monee in a rematch against Rich South...

Crete-Monee 73, Rich South 68 OT

In front of a packed gym, the Stars used home court to their advantage for most of the game. On the other hand, Raymond Lester had a career style game knocking down 37.

"This is what we did last year," Lester said. "We started to put it all together at the end of the season. This year, we're starting to put it together sooner."

The Warrior held a 5 point lead coming down the stretch and went cold, missing several shots giving the Stars a chance to back into the game including a pair of free throws from Macari Brooks and on from senior Tyrone Allen which sent the game into overtime.

On the final ^{possession in regulation, the crowd made their presence felt as the
Warriors got the ball to Lester who got his shot blocked and the ball
went straight to Marvie Keith who nailed a last-second shot....} The crowd, that was already on their feet, roared and thought the game was over.... but the shot was called off sending this contest into OT.

^{Game Summary provided by PCJ Images

^{Check out PCJImages.com
for some outstanding baseline action shots.}}

In overtime, Crete had a 5 point lead until the Stars' Darryl Hervy nailed a 3-pointer narrowing the score to 2 with 1:38 left. About a minute later Joshua Humphrey scrambled for a loose ball and was fouled. He hit one of two from the free throw line making it 71-68. They scored one more time and advanced to the championship game against Hales Wednesday night...

"This is a big win for the Crete-Monee program," Warriors coach Rocky Hill said. "Crete hasn't played for the championship of this tournament since 1995, so we're excited to have that chance."

The Warriors will face Hales at 7 p.m. Wednesday for the championship.

Hales 73, Thornton 52
In this tournament, those of us not familiar with the Spartans looked at them for pure offense. During their previous game, their back court tandem knocked down 71 between them alone. Against the defending champions, they knocked their share of points but their defense played to its full potential causing over 20 turnovers.

"They started trapping us and we just lost our discipline," Thornton head coach Troy Jackson said. "We've played Hillcrest, and that's a team that likes to trap, but we've just got to get better at handling it."

Pat Miller scored a game-high 21 points followed by Aaric Armstead, who added 14.

"It was most definitely a statement win," Aaron Armstead said. "We showed that we can beat a really tough team."

^{Game Summary provided by PCJ
Images

^{Check out PCJImages.com
for some outstanding baseline action shots.}}

Marquette-bound Reggie Smith led the Wildcats with 18 points. His backcourt compliment, Jay Parker, added 13.

Hales, which won Big Dipper titles in 2002 and 2007, will play for a third championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Crete-Monee.

"Winning here was a goal for our guys at the beginning of the season," Hales coach Gary London said. "It's just something these kids can look forward to and have fun trying to win."

Lincoln Park 50, Leo 48
Demacro Nash had 21 points for Lincoln Park.

Bolingbrook 70, Seton 69
Antione Cox (Bolingbrook) and Khameron Harper (Seton) each had a game-high 25 points.

^{^{^{For action shots from the game, click here.}}}

Bloom 74, Richards 51
Torean Ratcliff (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Arnell Walters (12 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles for Bloom. Deron Perkins also added a game-high 18 points.

Rich Central 89, Tinley Park 61
Adedeji Ibaitayo had 21 points for Rich Central and Gerald Dorsey had 29 points for Tinley Park.

^{Game Summary provided by PCJ Images

^{Check out PCJImages.com
for some outstanding baseline action shots.}}

Shepard 47, Fenger 44
Bernard Burnette had a game-high 15 points for Shepard.

Rich East 56, Marian Catholic 47
Darius Holman had 17 points for Rich East. Kashune McKinney chipped in 13 more and Marshall Bennett added 12.

^{^{For action shots from the game, click here.}}

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