Cameron Snelling isn’t sure if his game-winning layup in overtime beat the buzzer Saturday in Winnetka.
“I have no idea,” Snelling said. “I was busy concentrating on putting it in the basket.”
New Trier coach Rick Malnati had a definite opinion. He streaked across the court, chasing the referees into their locker room, screaming that the basket was no good.
Whatever the opinions, the basket counted and gave No. XX Thornwood a 72-70 overtime win.
Snelling drained a three with 26 seconds to play in overtime to tie the score. The game-winner came on an assist from Deandre Taylor.
“I had no idea if he was gonna shoot it or pass it to me,” Snelling said. “I just knew we had to do something fast.”
Thornwood guard Trey Blue had one of the premier shooting performances of the season. The 6-3 senior scored 30 points. He was 9 of 11 from the field, 5 of 5 from three point range.
Both teams shot incredibly well. The Thunderbirds drained 12 threes in the game and New Trier had eight.
“I’ve been having a decent year but I know it is time to turn it on now,” Blue said. “We’re hitting the end of the season soon and we need to be playing well.”
Blue scored 23 in the first half. He became the primary focus of the Trevian defense in the second half, but managed to fight through the double-teams for seven points.
Backcourt mate Reggie Hamilton (16 points, seven rebounds) picked up the slack, scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“He’s like my brother,” Blue said. “He had my back when they were hounding me. Reggie came over and told me he was going to take care of things.”
A reverse layup by Tim McCrary with 4:40 to play in the third quarter gave New Trier a 13 point lead. The Thunderbirds used a 12-2 run early in the fourth quarter to tighten things up.
Peter Boehm was nearly unstoppable in the post for the Trevians, scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Jack Boehm scored 14 points, Romey had 12 and junior Tim McCrary added 10 points and nine rebounds for New Trier.
Snelling finished with 11 points and Taylor had seven points and five rebounds for the Thunderbirds.