Plainfield claws Into overtime, but falls short

Dylan Yaworski (24) waits for a pass near the basket. Photos by Denise Coffey.

Plainfield was only two points away from clinching its first Small Division title Friday night at Tourtellotte Memorial High in Thompson but lost in overtime, 69 to 68.  They struggled back from a 14 point deficit late in the fourth quarter. With just minutes left in the game, the Panthers chipped away steadily at Thompson’s lead. The Tigers kept turning the ball over and the Panthers capitalized, one basket at a time.    

Dylan Yaworski brought the Panthers to within five points with a scoring frenzy.  John Lorange had two 3-pointers in the last minute to bring the Panthers to within two points of tying and sending it into overtime.
Freshman Ryan Pambuku was fouled with only 10 seconds left in the game.  With the hopes of all his teammates riding on his shoulders, he went to the foul line and sank both shots to even the game and send it into overtime.

Overtime was four closely fought minutes. When the last seconds ticked down, the Panthers were short by a point. Suthod Young and Dylan Yaworski tried, but couldn’t make their baskets count.    

“They don’t quit,” coach Arremony said after the game. “They’re hard workers.  They’ve worked hard the whole time they’ve been here. They just don’t give up.”

A Plainfield win would have brought them a league title, their first since 2001-2002. 

“We didn’t win the championship tonight,” Arremony said after the game, but he wasn’t throwing in the towel.  He planned to make his team practice the next day. 

“We still have a one-game lead over the team that beat us tonight,” Coach Arremony said. “If we can beat Wheeler and Griswold next week, we’ll win the title outright.  If we win one more, we’ll share with these guys [Tourtellotte].”   

“So we’ll hope for the best.  We’ll get back to work tomorrow morning. We’ll be up for a little practice. We’re just going to do some walk-throughs for the next game.  We’ll probably play three on three, have a little fun. I’ll referee; make some of the calls I didn’t like tonight so they can yell at me.”  He laughed.

Coach’s Corner:

Coach Bob Arremony

31 years Head Coach

Coach Arremony has nothing but praise for his senior-laden basketball team. “We've been working hard for over two years. They’re all good kids.  They’ve been with us a long time. They don’t quit.”

Sports Spotlight

Suthod Young

Senior forward #35

Suthod Young is a six foot, three inch forward who plays tough under the boards. He has a strong outside shot. He's a tough competitor.

Dylan Yaworski

Senior guard #24

Dylan Yaworski is a great team player and a great leader on the court. He credits his coach with helping the team maintain a calm but competitive approach to their games.