Dillon Orozco, Hinsdale Central stay hot, blow out Hersey at WSC/MSL Challenge

Orozco scores 27 in 70-46 win, Red Devils' 10th straight

Herseyโ€™s Charlie Pomis (3) shoots over Hinsdale Centralโ€™s Dillon Dell (3) Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 in Buffalo Grove.

BUFFALO GROVE โ€“ Dillon Orozco was in high gear and put Hinsdale Central on cruise control in Saturday eveningโ€™s WSC/MSL Challenge matchup with Hersey.

The 6-foot Orozco scored 18 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and the Red Devils scored the first 12 points en route to a 70-46 victory over the Huskies at Buffalo Grove.

โ€œOur coach (Nick Latorre) always says it can be a different guy every night,โ€ Orozco said. โ€œWeโ€™re such a balanced team and it can be anyone.

โ€œMy goal was to come out with a lot of energy. After our tournament everyoneโ€™s emphasis was to try to start the new year off right.โ€

Orozco, who was an all-tournament selection en route to a team title in the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic, shot 11-for-17 from the field and 3-for-5 behind the arc and had six rebounds and two assists. Tourney MVP and South Dakota recruit Vince Buzelis had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting with nine rebounds and four assists as the Red Devils (13-2) won their 10th consecutive game.

โ€œWeโ€™re very unselfish,โ€ Latorre said. โ€œOur kids do a really good job of not worrying about who gets the credit and itโ€™s fun to watch. Theyโ€™re pretty good about not worrying about who scores and who does this and who does that.โ€

Hersey (12-2) was 2-for-15 behind the arc as it trailed 34-16 at half and 2-for-19 on 3s before junior Charlie Pomis (16 points) connected with 7:14 to play. Pomis finished 5-for-13 overall and 3-for-7 on 3s and Logan Luxem added 9 points.

โ€œTheyโ€™re a very good team but at times we took ourselves out of what we wanted to run and they sped us up a little bit,โ€ said Hersey coach Bob Widlowski, whose team finished fifth at Pekin. โ€œYouโ€™re concerned because they have seven guys who can score and (Buzelis) shared the ball and (Orozco) had an excellent game.โ€

Dillon Dell (nine points, 3-for-5 on 3s), 6-6 Michael Howell (seven points, four rebounds), Tyler Thick (six points) and Eric Kozys also played big roles for Hinsdale Central.

โ€œWe always want to be humble โ€ฆ and we always have to put our heads down and work hard every day,โ€ Orozco said. โ€œWeโ€™re probably one of the most hard-working teams in the state.โ€

Marty Maciaszek

Marty Maciaszek for Shaw Local

Marty Maciaszek is a contributing writer covering high school sports for Shaw Local. He has covered high school sports since 1982.