With star player Nick Zeisloft out of action after suffering a sprained ankle in Tuesday’s practice, the Lyons Township boys basketball team still managed to slip past Curie 66-64 in the Class 4A Argo sectional semifinal last night.
Aided by two costly Curie turnovers in the fourth, Lyons Township’s Eric Powers triggered a decisive five-point spurt with a three-pointer, and Nick Burt added the game-winning layup with three seconds remaining on the clock.
“Eric hit a huge three and I had the easy part,” Burt said about the biggest basket of his LT career. “Nick [Zeisloft] encouraged us that we could come back because we have done it before this season. We play together, share the ball and believe in one another. It’s really exciting to be going back to another sectional final.”
Powers scored a game-high 21 points while Spencer Mahoney (16 points), Dylan Fiedler (12 points) and Burt (11 points, 8 rebounds) also came up big for the ever-balanced Lions (26-2).
Paris Burns led Curie (28-3) with 17 points, and promising 6-foot-8 freshman Cliff Alexander added nine points and 14 rebounds.
Lyons takes on Simeon on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Argo in the sectional final. Last year, the Wolverines crushed the Lions 65-35 en route to a Class 4A state championship.
