Boys basketball: Newcomer Zion Gross helps balanced Joliet West outlast Plainfield North

PLAINFIELD - The start of Zion Gross’ career at Joliet West was a bit slower than he would have liked as an ankle injury kept him out of a couple games and limited his minutes in a few others.

“It was tough, but I had to adjust,” Gross said. “I had to realize that adversity comes and goes and whatever happens, you have to push through it. I push through it every day, not just on the court but in the classroom.

“I’ve made sure my grades are good and everything was settled before I could get back healthy and get back on the court.”

Now, Gross - a junior guard who transferred from Crete-Monee - is ready to go.

Gross made his second start for the Tigers on Friday night and delivered eight points and eight rebounds, helping Joliet West grind out a 47-39 win over Plainfield North in a Southwest Prairie Conference game.

“You can see how special he is,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said of Gross. “He can get a defensive rebound, push it in transition and in 3.5 dribbles he’s at the other rim.

“Not only that, but his whole life he’s been a 20-point scorer and he’s come to us and become a playmaker. He’s a combo guard. He’s willing to give up the ball and he’ll go get his shot when he can get it.”

Valparaiso recruit Justus McNair led a balanced attack for Joliet West (8-3, 5-1) with 10 points and eight rebounds. Tristian Saunders scored nine points, Aamir Shannon and CJ Nobles added seven points each and Drew King finished with six points and five rebounds.

Jeffrey Fleming led Plainfield North (6-5, 3-3) with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Takevian Wade scored eight points and Eric Schnable chipped in five points.

Gross scored five points in the third quarter to help Joliet West extend a 20-18 halftime lead to 33-25 after three.

“It feels good,” Gross said. “I’m making the best reads I can and being the best playmaker I can be on both ends, not just on offense but stepping up on defense and being a vocal leader on the court.”

Gross has been more than willing to take on some new roles at Joliet West.

“I’ve embraced it a lot,” he said. “At Crete, I was more of a scorer. That was my job. Coming here, I’ve got a good set of guards with me. Justus McNair is very good. I open the court for Justus and Aamir Shannon to get more shots. I want to get in transition and help us get rebounds.”

A three-point play from Fleming and a 3-pointer from Schnable helped Plainfield North pull within 35-31 with three minutes, 40 seconds left in the game.

But Joliet West responded with back-to-back baskets from King and Justus McNair and Shannon also scored to help close out the win.

Kreiger said things played out according to plan for his team.

“We knew they were going to limit possessions, but we want to control the game defensively,” Kreiger said. “So while the score may have been low, we like that tempo. Like we always talk about, we want to wear teams down in the fourth quarter and stop their best players from scoring.

“(Fleming) still had a really good game but he’s averaging 23 and we held him to 18, so that’s minus five. It was just a collective effort.”

Fleming gave credit to Joliet West.

“We’ve never seen defense like this,” he said. “We definitely need to fix our offense and execute plays earlier in the possession.

“I just want to win. That’s what pushes me and I’ve gotten more confidence. I just want the ball to score and get my team the win.”

On the other side, Joliet West has several players stepping up to get wins. Nobles gave his team a big lift off the bench Friday night.

“Teams play better when everyone’s scoring, everyone’s involved, everyone’s guarding,” Nobles said. “That’s how you win is as a team.”