3 Takeaways: Lemont vs Thornton

<p>There were so many good games on Friday night with the sectional finals in all four classes.  We caught action between Thornton and Lemont.  Lemont jumped out from the beginning and went on to win 56-49.  See what happened in <strong>3 Takeaways: Lemont vs Thornton</strong>!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Castillo Twins Shine on Big Stage</strong></p> <p>Two of the most fun players to watch in the junior class are Lemont twins [player_tooltip player_id="1215313" first="Rokas" last="Castillo"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1279762" first="Matas" last="Castillo"].  They were the difference in this game.  Rokas came out as hot as could be draining three after three.  High level shot maker hit five of them in the game along with some key free throws finishing with 21 points.  Primed for a breakout spring/summer with Full Package, but has work left to do in the state tournament.  His brother Matas is a heady point guard that makes crisp decisions and gets others involved with his passing.  The gritty leader did that all night with his passing along with making a couple key buckets for 9 points.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Top 5 Stars Cancel Each Other Out</strong></p> <p>Sometimes games like this aren’t what you thought they would be.  This game featured two of the premier high-major prospects in the state with Lemont’s [player_tooltip player_id="1157223" first="Nojus" last="Indrusaitis"] and Thornton’s [player_tooltip player_id="1364826" first="Ty" last="Rodgers"].  They cancelled each other out with neither getting that much production.  Rodgers took on the task of checking Nojus.  He did a pretty nice job throughout the game on that end of the floor.  Was called for several tough foul calls on both ends of the floor.  Indrusaitis also was in foul trouble including a couple of offensive fouls and struggled at the free throw line.  He did have a pair of key and-1 drives that gave his team momentum at important times of the game.  Forced jumpers all night that didn’t fall.  He had 7 points.  Rodgers fouled out of the game with 5:14 left in the 4^th quarter with 5 points and 4 rebounds.  He had a nice stretch in the middle of the game where he posted up a smaller defender and punished him for a bucket along with getting a put back.  Missed quite a few bunnies in this game.  Still love what he will bring to the Illini at the next level as a combo forward that can stuff the stat sheet.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Guards Keep Thornton in Game</strong></p> <p>With Rodgers in foul trouble all night it was the guards of Thornton that stepped up.  Junior [player_tooltip player_id="1371073" first="Vincent" last="Rainey"] has been a player we have liked all year.  Smaller guard that can let it fly from deep including one from Steph land late.  Also mixed in some shifty drives and nifty finishes for 14 points.  Ariohn Herring is a senior guard we hadn’t heard much about.  He made an impression with his toughness getting downhill winning off the dribble for scores in the paint netting 13 points.</p>