Boys basketball: Jaylin Murphy, defense power Joliet Central past Plainfield South

JOLIET – When Jaylin Murphy gets hot, he doesn’t mess around.

In the WJOL Thanksgiving Classic this season, Murphy had a game in which he shot 8 of 8 from 3-point range for Joliet Central. He wasn’t that hot Tuesday night against Plainfield South, but it was close. Murphy went 6 of 9 from deep and finished with a game-high 28 points as the Steelmen used Murphy’s shooting and a suffocating defense to top Plainfield South 59-40 in a Southwest Prairie Conference matchup.

Murphy knocked down the first three 3-pointers he attempted, the last being the final basket of the first quarter and put the Steelmen (6-3, 2-3 SPC) up for good at 14-12.

“I didn’t feel any different during warmups,” Murphy said about his shooting. “But once I hit that first one in the game, I could tell I was in that zone. Zion [Kostyra] is a great point guard, and he got me the ball when I was open and had a shot.”

Plainfield South (3-7, 1-4) wanted to limit the scoring output of Kostyra, who was the MVP of the WJOL tournament. That part of the Cougars’ game plan worked, as Kostyra was held without a point. But the Steelmen proved they are for more than a one-man show, putting up a 19-point victory despite their season’s leading scorer not scoring.

“Jaylin can get as hot as anybody,” Central coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. said. “And we are getting better at getting him the ball when he is hot.

“This game shows us that Zion can be a big factor as a nonscoring point guard when teams take his scoring away. He was able to find the open people even when it was tough for him to get baskets.”

Central outscored South 15-6 in the second quarter to take a 29-18 halftime lead. Murphy had seven points, including another 3-pointer, and Danny Thompson (10 points, 7 rebounds) and Deven Triplett (14 points, 5 rebounds) each had four points. Thompson included a steal and layup in the quarter, one of three such plays for him on the night, and Central forced Plainfield South into five turnovers in each of the first three quarters.

“Danny did a real nice job defensively,” Lawrence Thompson Jr. said. “Overall, our effort on defense and our rotation helped us negate their size. No. 23 [Jeremiah Lesure] and No. 0 [Kareem Parker] are very long and athletic and could give us problems underneath. Our defensive pressure on their guards kept them from getting the ball down low.

“If we had played substandard defense, this game could have been a lot different with their strength inside.”

The Steelmen scored the first 10 points of the second quarter, and Murphy capped the run with a 3-pointer from beyond NBA range.

“This game was personal,” Murphy said. “Last year, we were 8-23 and had a tough time. When we played them last year, they were up a lot, and they had a play where they went between the legs and threw an alley-oop. I wanted our guys to wake up and remember that, and they did.

“We also have two of the greatest coaches [Thompson and assistant Duane Edmon] maybe in the state, and they do a great job of preparing us. We just want to keep getting better. We have another challenge with Oswego on Thursday.”

Murphy later added back-to-back two-point baskets, the second when he took a rebound the length of the floor for a layup, to help Central build a 47-26 lead heading into the fourth, when reserves played most of the rest of the way.

“We shot the ball well, which helps us a lot,” Lawrence Thompson Jr. said. “When we make baskets, whether it’s after five seconds, 15 seconds or 30 seconds, it helps us set up our defense and keeps teams from getting baskets in transition on us.”