McArthur gives Whitney Young trouble before falling

Defending  Class 4A state champion Whitney Young of Chicago held McArthur scoreless for the final 3:19 and staved off the upset at East High. It was McArthur's third straight loss, while Young improved to 2-0.

McArthur rebounded from an eight-point deficit (16-8) to take a 32-27 lead just before halftime, which arrived with the Hollywood, Florida team holding a 32-31 advantage.

The lead went back-and-forth in the third quarter until McArthur scored the quarter's last five points for a 50-45 edge entering the final eight minutes.

Javier Zapata's three-pointer gave McArthur a 53-45 lead with 6:54 left, but the Dolphins scored only four more points the rest of the way.

Javon Freeman, one of three returning starters from last year's state champions, scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter comeback. Young, which hit 16 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's win over East, went 6 of 7 from the line in the fourth quarter against McArthur.

Myles Baker added 16 points for Young and Justin Boyd added 10. Isaiah Woodstock had 11 points to lead McArthur. Zapata scored 10 points for the Mustangs.

BOXSCORE

Chicago Whitney Young 66, Hollywood (Fla.) McArthur 57
(At East High School)

Whitney Young    16    15    14    21 -- 66

McArthur               11    21    18     7 -- 57

Whitney Young -- Freeman 9 8-10 26, Baker 6 3-5 16, Jones 0 0-2 0, Boyd 4 0-0 10, Castanada 3 2-3 8, Kosakowski 1 0-1 3, Njie 0 1-2 1, Totals 23 16-27 66.

McArthur -- Labastille 2 0-0 4, Francois 1 0-0 3, Narvaez 1 4-6 6, Woodstock 4 0-0 11, Ward 2 3-4 9, Zapata 3 2-2 10, Choi 4 0-2 8, Howard 3 0-0 6, Totals 20 9-14 57.

3pt FG -- Whitney Young 4 (Baker, Boyd 2, Kosakowski); McArthur 8 (Francois, Woodstock 3, Ward 2, Zapata 2).