Bolingbrook holds off Sandburg rally

THE SKINNY

Bolingbrook (20-5, 12-2), which has already won the conference title outright, led by as many as twelve points and had a 48-39 lead going into the fourth quarter but had to hold on against Sandburg in the final seconds to secure the victory in Southwest Suburban Blue conference play. Three different Raiders split a pair of free-throws during the last thirty seconds to ensure the win.

TURNING POINT

Bolingbrook led 31-26 at halftime and seemingly broke the game open in the third quarter when Gage Davis (11 points) scored on consecutive threes to extend the Raiders lead to 40-28 with 5:22 left in the third quarter. But Sandburg (9-17, 5-9) came out inspired in the fourth and used a 12-3 run to tie the game at 51-51 with 1:40 left in the game.

THE STAR

Sandburg junior guard Niko Kogionis scored a game-high 17 points (6-of-14 shooting) in a losing effort. Five of his six baskets were from long distance.

BY THE NUMBERS

Bolingbrook was 20-of-44 from the floor and made 9-of-16 free-throws (4-of-9 in the fourth quarter) while Sandburg connected on 18-of-44 attempts (7-of-15 threes). Bolingbrook senior Kenny Williams had a team-high 12 points.

QUOTABLE

“We’re proud of our kids as outright conference champs in a really, really good conference and we’re excited for our program and ready to get going next week,” Brost said.