Plainfield boys win ECC tourney game against Bacon

Suthod Young stands at the foul line, where he went 18 for 23 in the PHS game against Bacon. Photos by Denise Coffey.

The Plainfield High School boys’ basketball team edged closer to an ECC championship Feb. 26 by beating Bacon Academy in an overtime thriller, 68-63. Suthod Young scored 45 of Plainfield’s 68 points, but he couldn’t have done it without the support of the entire team.

“We started the season and we said we were going to use a lot of players,” coach Bob Arremony said. “We've used 10 to 11 players in the first half of most every game this year. We said that we had to do that to be a good team. And what it did was brought everyone together. Ten to 11 guys had to make sure they were doing everything right. We could play man-to-man full-court and wear people down, and that's what we've been able to do in a lot of occasions because they work effectively as a team.”

Arremony has rotated his players in and out on a regular basis all season. “By giving each other breaks, you're well rested,” Arremony said. “You play as hard as you can. That's a concept we came into this season with. Kids enjoy playing for a team when they get to play.”

The Panthers have nine seniors on the team, and all of them have skills and abilities to contribute, Arremony said. “We want to make everyone have a part of it,” he said. He had them practice hard all week leading up to the game with Bacon. They practiced defense every day except Friday. “We set our defense earlier in the week. We played defense every day, so I gave them Friday off on playing defense. I wanted them to get their legs and have energy for the tournament game,” he said.

Bacon Academy proved a worthy opponent, as Arremony expected. “They’re a good team,” he said. “They've got some good shooters. We had to challenge the outside shot. We had to rebound with five guys. We had to come with a lot of energy because they have a couple of guys who jump really well.”

“But these guys come and play basketball. Sometimes when I look at the other team before the game, like Bacon Academy, and how big they are and stronger than us, I say, ‘How are we going beat these guys?’ And they find a way to do it. These kids come to play. They all play together.”

Coach’s Corner-

Plainfield High School boys’ basketball coach Bob Arremony

Number of seasons: 30

Assistant Coach: Tom Scott

“They're enjoying themselves and they love to play and they're good friends. They treat each other well,” Arremony said of his team. “The state tournament isn't until next week so we have to work on that.”

Seniors: Suthod Young, Aaron Laporte, John Lorange, Kevin Murphy, Dustin Yaworski, Dylan Yaworski, Connor Flanagan, Tyler Rouillard and Arbieri Ferraj.

Spotlight Players-

Suthod Young, #35, Forward: Young had 45 points, 18 out of 23. He was 11-for-19 from the field and 18-of-23 from the free-throw line.

Aaron Laporte, #10, Guard: “Aaron Laporte made some big free throws at the end for us,” Arremony said. “He had a big part in the game. He ran the point, got the ball to post to Suthod several times and then when they overplayed Suthod, he took the ball and made a play. He had a great second half.”