South Beloit 83, Forreston 73: South Beloit spotted Forreston 20 points in the first quarter, and still, the Cardinals couldn’t keep up with the Sobos.

“Our guys really believe that, no matter who they play, eventually, they’re going to wear them down,” South Beloit coach Mat Parker said after his team’s 83-73 come-from-behind win at Forreston on Tuesday.

“We’re going to be relentless the whole game. We truly believe that we’re going to outlast everyone physically.”

South Beloit (19-1, 8-1 NUIC East) overcame a 20-point first-quarter deficit to remain tied for first place with Polo (20-3, 8-1).

The Cardinals (11-9, 7-2) used a 17-2 run to sprint out to a 28-8 lead in their first meeting against the Sobos, who are fifth in this week’s Class 1A state rankings. But Denzel Woods’ 3-pointer at the buzzer hinted a South Beloit comeback.

The Sobos started the second quarter with a 13-2 run, pulled within 10 points (45-35) at halftime and outscored Forreston 27-7 in the third.

Antonio Little’s putback with 3:35 left in the third gave the Sobos their first lead, 50-49, and they went on to lead by as much as 16 in the fourth. The Sobos finished by hitting 13 of their 16 free throws and going 5 for 7 from the field in the final quarter.

“We know teams can’t hang with us for all four quarters,” said Woods, who finished with 23 points.

Michael Schneiderman went 12 for 14 at the foul line and finished with 26 points for Forreston.

South Beloit finished with 16 offensive rebounds, nine of which went back in for second-chance points.

“That’s what got us good,” Forreston coach Jonathan Schneiderman said. “They have a good team with athletic players.

“If you only play that way once every 15 games, it’s tough to adjust.”

Little and Katonka Friar added 17 and 13 points for South Beloit, and Matt Peterson had 11 rebounds.

- Emily Tropp, rrstar.com