A starter since his freshman season, Peotone junior Alex Chenoweth is used to the twists and turns a basketball game can take.
Good experience for the roller-coaster ride the Blue Devils took en route to a 61-58 overtime win against visiting Wilmington on Dec. 19.
Peotone (6-4, 4-1 Illinois Central Eight) led by 10 early in.the third quarter, fell behind by 10 with less than 2:30 left in regulation and stormed back to win behind a big game from Chenoweth.
“We defended, we took better shots,” Chenoweth said of the comeback from a 52-42 deficit. “I mean, I just trusted my shot. We needed some big shots and my teammates found me. We just got hot and it turned out good.”
The 6-0 guard missed his first six shots but regrouped and scored all of his game-high 24 points after halftime. Junior forward Tyler Walker carried the Blue Devils early, hitting his first four shots — three from 3-point range — and scoring all 15 of his points before halftime.
Junior guard Nick Cronin was the third Blue Devil to hit double figures, scoring 11.
For veteran Peotone coach Ron Oloffson, it was a case of all’s well that ends well.
“We shot ourselves in the foot almost the whole game, giving up easy baskets and (making) some dumb turnovers,” he said.
“But I’m so proud of our players because in the fourth quarter we played like we can play. And then in OT we took it.”
Oloffson had said before the season that more would be on Chenoweth’s plate this year.
“He’s gotta score,” Oloffson said. “He does it all. He never came out of the game tonight. He runs the show, he guards one of the (opponent’s) best players and he scores.”
So does Walker, who has emerged as one of the area’s top shooters from distance. Besides the trio of 3-pointers he hit against Wilmington, Walker had six in a loss to Manteno on Nov. 28 and five in a win vs. Milford on Dec. 2.
“He’s our best 3-point shooter so we want to get him more 3s,” Oloffson said.
Chenoweth is more than willing to share the wealth with Walker.
“Sometimes I’m off and I’ve just got to trust my teammates,” Chenoweth said. “And I do. I was off in the first half and ‘Walk’ was hot. And we fed him.
“And then when I couldn’t get shots in the second half, Nick was getting to the paint. So we all trust each other. And it’s looking really good for us right now — playing good basketball.”
The win moved the Blue Devils a half-game ahead of Wllmington (5-2, 3-1) into second place in the ICE, a game behind Streator (6-2, 5-0).
“We’re not where we need to be, but we’re getting better,” Oloffson said. “Our defense is putting us in a position to win every game.”
A conference title is within reach, he believes.
“We run the table and beat Streator (in the rematch), it’s a tie,” Oloffson said. “That’s our goal.”