Midway through the first quarter Friday night, Plainfield South boys basketball coach Jeff Howard called a timeout during a Southwest Prairie Conference and District 202 rivalry game against Plainfield Central.

The press resulted in three straight fast-break baskets by Cougar sophomore guard Ayden Foston and gave South (8-17 ,4-10) the breathing room it needed in a 64-59 win. Foston finished with a team-high 18 points, including knocking down 6-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter to keep the Wildcats (6-19, 2-11) at bay.

“That was a good call by coach,” Foston said about applying the press. “It got us a good lead and gave us momentum for the rest of the game. Playing against another Plainfield team is very serious.

“I like to be out in the open floor so I can use my speed. Speed is the key to us winning. We had a lot of guys contribute tonight. Isaiah Sepulveda made some big shots early, and Isaiah Robertson is really developing into a good big man.”

Robertson had 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Sepulveda made three 3-pointers in the first half to help the Cougars build a 34-23 halftime lead.

Plainfield Central, though, wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

The Wildcats chipped away at the lead throughout the third quarter and with 0:47 left in the period, cut the South lead to 42-40. South, though, sandwiched a basket by Robertson and a pair of free throws by Kaiden Brown (six points) around a bucket by Central’s Tristan Manajero (six points) to lead 46-42 entering the fourth. Phoenix Jones, who led all scorers with 19 points to go with nine rebounds, scored seven points in the third-quarter stretch.

Robertson opened the fourth with a basket off an assist from Foston before Central’s Colby Logan banked in a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to 48-45. After he made a free throw, Foston turned a steal into a layup for a 51-45 Cougar advantage. Robertson then scored off an assist from Brayden Ablin. Jones scored for Central before Foston scored on a short jumper for a 55-47 lead. Central answered with a basket by Jones and a 3-pointer by Alexis Landfair (nine points) to cut the gap to 55-52, but the Wildcats got no closer as Foston went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 48 seconds to seal the win.

“When we watched film on Plainfield Central, we thought they might have trouble with our diamond press,” Howard said. “They were missing a couple of key players and we thought we could press them, and it worked. Our guys got some steals and turned them into baskets that gave us a cushion.

“To Plainfield Central’s credit, they played a heck of a game. We knew it would be a dog fight, just like the last time we played them. This was a good high school basketball game and it was good for the city of Plainfield.”

The Wildcats continue to show a marked improvement from the beginning of the year, but couldn’t quite close the gap this time.

“We had a bit of a drop-off in the second quarter,” Plainfield Central coach Tim Boe said. “We got close a few times and had the ball, but we came up empty too often. Their diamond press early really hurt us and gave then some easy runouts.

“I thought Phoenix Jones played very well tonight, and so did guys off the bench like Cornelius Blakely, Elijah Nixon and Stephon Griffin. The kids have come a long way this season. Both teams played very hard, just like you would expect in a Plainfield rivalry game.”