Extra Points: Oswego Balanced Attack Tests Defenses

What makes Oswego so tough to defend you ask?

For starters you have junior Ryan West, who last week Oswego East coach Jason Buckley declared as his choice for MVP of the Southwest Prairie Conference.

The 6-foot-3-inch West can take the ball to the rim, he’s a great rebounder who gets plenty of put-backs, and he’s also deadly from outside the three-point arc.

Then you have sophomore slasher Elliot McGaughy, who scored 29 points against Oswego East last week and 24 in Friday’s win at Plainfield North. McGaughy aggressively races up the floor and is not afraid to challenge bigger players down low.

But as if those two were not more than a handful by themselves, this year’s Panthers have plenty more firepower including sophomore Miles Simelton, who came up very big in the second half of Oswego's 79-71 defeat of the Tigers. Simelton scored 11 of his 18 points in the second half at Plainfield North, including a pair of late clutch baskets that helped fend off the pesky Tigers.

In a second half, in which the Tigers somehow managed to limit West and McGaughy to one field goal apiece, Simelton stepped up his game along with Jamaal Richardson, who tallied all seven of his points in the second half.

“I was just trying to stay aggressive,” said Simelton, who mixed in two clutch pull-up jumpers and lay-ups to go along with 5-for-7 free-throw shooting on the night. "Elliot and Ryan, they take a lot of the attention (from opposing defenses) so I’m kinda flying under the radar. I just try and keep attacking.”

His efforts did not go unnoticed by Oswego coach Kevin Schnable on Friday.

"I just told him in the locker room that he was more aggressive,  more assertive and played with more confidence in the second half," Schnable said. "And he had that huge shot, that shorty, runner that made it a three-possession game (in the fourth quarter). We want him with the ball.”

Especially when you knock down free throws the way Simelton has. He entered Friday’s action 36-for-40 (90 percent) from the line in 2011. He missed his first two attempts at Plainfield North but made good on his final five offerings.

Krieger update: The Tigers, who are 0-6 without Jack Krieger who has been out with a thumb injury, hope to get their star back for a playoff push. Coach Nick DiForti said his 20-point, 10-rebound per game guy may return next week.

“He is cleared but it depends on when he can withstand the pain,” DiForti said. “It could be Tuesday but we don’t know.  He really wants to come back.”

In his absence the Tigers have not won but they have played a lot of teams tough, which bodes well for the remainder of the season.

Tiger sophs: Much has been made of Oswego’s great sophomore class that features talented starters Jamaal Richardson, Miles Simelton and Elliot McGaughy, along with key post reserve Josh Oros, but Plainfield South has a pair of talented youngsters as well.

The Tigers’ top two scorers against Oswego were sophomores Kurt Palandech and Marcus Fair. Palandech had 13 points and seven rebounds, and burned the Panthers with a number of quick moves inside. Fair, meanwhile, had a game-high four four-pointers while pacing Plainfield North with 18 points Friday night.