There were three different moments in the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic championship game where normal players would have given up. They would have looked for a teammate to pass to or just crumpled in a heap, hoping that a foul would be called.
Darius Burford is not a normal player. Block his shot three times in a row, he will go at you a fourth time and score.
“His motor is second to none,” Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. “We’ve had some really good players in my tenure here and his motor is the best that we’ve ever had. He doesn’t get tired and he’s a leader.”
Burford had 14 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Raiders to a 57-45 win against host York on Tuesday.
“We will be dead tired, all of us exhausted in practice and [Burford] will be in there dunking,” Bolingbrook junior Kai Evans said. “He’s always hyped. I knew he would get up for this game.”
Burford, an Elon recruit, scored 30 points and made four big free throws in overtime on Monday in the semifinals against undefeated Hinsdale South. He doesn’t take any credit for his motor.
“It all comes from my teammates,” Burford said. “They pick me up after every bad play I have. I know they have my back. I tune out the crowd and play for my team. I’d go to war with them any day.”
Burford managed those 15 rebounds despite being just 6-1. The Raiders out-rebounded the Dukes 47-24.
“Our guards are pretty good at rebounding and Tyler McLaurin is a middle linebacker,” Brost said. “That helps as well.”
McLaurin finished with 12 rebounds and Evans added 18 points and six rebounds. Isaiah Stafford scored 13.
Bolingbrook (11-3) led by eight at halftime and took control in the third quarter, holding the Dukes (12-2) to just one basket, a three-pointer by Nate Shockey.
“Having our linebacker there rebounding everything, it was amazing,” Burford said. “And our defense was just incredible.”
This was Bolingbrook’s first year in the tournament. York won the title last season in a thriller against Downers Grove South.
“I’m happy for our guys and our fans,” Brost said. “When we came in here tonight I thought it would be about 1,500 York fans and 15 Bolingbrook fans. We had a lot more than 15 so shoutout to Raider Nation. To our kids’ credit they did exactly what we wanted them to do. York is ranked for a reason.”
Nate Shockey led York with 23 points and Nick Hesch added eight. The Dukes are used to playing five games in five days in the tournament every season and the load didn’t seem to faze Bolingbrook either.
“This is nothing,” Evans said. “We go way harder in practice. We didn’t think about the fatigue part at all. We go fast. We knew if we could get them into a race it was over with.”
Bolingbrook was ranked in the preseason and knocked off Minooka, Timothy Christian, Brother Rice and Hinsdale South to get to the title game.
“We are getting better,” Brost said. “We stub our toe here and there. We did beat the No. 1 team in Iowa and lost to the No. 2 team in Iowa.”
The final minute of Bolingbrook at York https://t.co/Rixp5oZaxc
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) December 31, 2019
