Boys basketball: Jeremiah Lesure leads Plainfield South past Plainfield Central

PLAINFIELD – Points were at a premium in the early going Friday night when Plainfield South hosted District 202 rival Plainfield Central.

That is until Plainfield South came up with a good idea: Get the ball to Jeremiah Lesure.

Cougars guards Devin Tyda and Jay Pena found the 6-foot-4 junior in the paint, and he scored eight of his 10 points in the first half to help his team to a 13-point halftime lead en route to a 50-35 Southwest Prairie Conference win.

Lesure finished with 10 points and six rebounds to pace the Cougars (3-5, 1-3 SPC), while Tyda had nine points and five rebounds, and Kareem Parker added six points and seven boards.

“My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball,” Lesure said. “Any time we play another Plainfield school, we really get up for it. One of our goals this year is to be the best Plainfield team, so to beat Centarl was one step to that goal.”

Both teams were more than a little cold from the field at the start. Central’s Kaveon Burns scored the game’s first basket at the 5:40 mark of the first quarter, and South didn’t tie it until a minute later on a basket by Pena. Tyda and Lesure each scored for South before Avery Rogoz (9 points, 5 rebounds) scored late in the quarter to make it 6-4 entering the second.

Lesure got it going quickly in the second quarter, scoring six of the Cougars’ first nine points – the others came on a 3-pointer by Marcus Johnson – to give his team a 15-4 lead. The South defense forced nine turnovers in the first half for a 23-10 lead and 17 turnovers in the game.

The Wildcats (1-8, 1-3) got to within 27-16 midway through the third on a putback by sophomore Lenard Donker (game-high 14 points, four rebounds), but South went on an 8-2 run to end the quarter and go into the fourth with a 35-18 lead.

South’s lead stretched to 46-23 on a basket by Parker before Central got a 3-pointer from Ari Williams and a pair of free throws by Burns to pull to within 46-28 before Lesure added the exclamation point.

Lesure poked a Central pass away at the free-throw line, then chased the ball down near midcourt and finished the fast break with a resounding dunk to make it 48-28.

“That dunk felt good,” Lesure said. “We take a lot of pride in our defense. We switched up our defenses, but we were always putting pressure on the ball.

“When we get turnovers, we get out in transition and get easy baskets.”

South coach Jeff Howard echoed Lesure’s feelings.

“It took us awhile to get going,” Howard said. “But our defense really helped us get some easy buckets. We knew that Central would be well prepared, and they were. Once we figured out what they were doing, we did a good job of getting Jeremy the ball. When he plays under control near the rim, he’s hard to stop. He did a good job tonight, and so did Kareem Parker. When he plays well on both ends, we are really tough.

“We had lost five in a row, so a win is a win. It wasn’t pretty, but it was a good night for the program [South also won the freshman and sophomore games]. We lost a heartbreaker to Plainfield East, but getting a win over another Plainfield school is part of what we want to do.”

Central coach Tim Boe liked what he saw from Donker and was impressed with South’s defense.

“Points were hard to come by all night,” he said. “Both teams had some nerves in the first quarter and it was frustrating. Give Coach Howard credit. He has his team ready to play.

“We’re glad to have Lenard back. His shoulder doesn’t look like it is bothering him anymore. We wanted to establish his presence underneath. If we get him going, then it will open up the perimeter. Lenard plays a lot bigger than he is and he’s a force under the basket.

“We can’t turn the ball over as often as we did. We gave them too many easy baskets.”