HINSDALE CENTRAL HOLIDAY CLASSIC

HC SQUARED:  Building a New Tradition of Basketball at Its Best
 

2016 GAME 24 RECAP: HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR 41, DEPAUL PREP 40

Box Score

HINSDALE, Ill. - Homewood-Flossmoor held on to down DePaul Prep 41-40 in the semifinals of the 2016 Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic to secure a spot in the championship game.

Homewood-Flossmoor (10-1) jumped out to an early 12-point lead, racing out to a 22-10 advantage just 6:30 into the contest. The Vikings led by 10 points after the first quarter, but DePaul Prep (9-4) clawed their way back into the contest, outscoring Homewood-Flossmoor 18-6 in the second to build a 30-28 lead at the half.

The two teams traded leads five times in the third period before a Nicholas Holmes layup gave the Vikings a two-point cushion entering the fourth quarter. H-F pushed its lead to five after a three-pointer from Sterling Fields with seven minutes remaining, but the Rams held the Vikings without a point for the next 6:50, trimming the lead down to one after a free throw from Fred Nunez and a three-point play from Matthew Tonkel. DePaul trailed by one with just 20 seconds remaining, but forced a turnover to get the ball back.

The Rams turned the ball over to H-F, but a missed free throw gave the Rams one more chance, but Elliott Sieger's three-pointer came up short just before the buzzer.

H-F shot 37.5 percent (15-of-40) from the floor in the win. Jeffrey Boyd led the way for the Vikings with 16 points while Jarrett Tribble added eight points and nine rebounds. Elijah McCreary scored eight for the Vikings.

DePaul Prep shot 35.6 percent (16-of-45) from the floor in the loss. Perry Cowan led the Rams in the loss with 18 points while Elliott Sieger scored 11.

Homewood-Flossmoor will take on Bolingbrook in Friday's (December 30) Championship game at at 8:30 p.m. DePaul Prep will face Marian Catholic in the third-place contest at 7:00 p.m.