Wiegold, Mundelein win thriller

The last hero standing wasn’t on his feet for long.

Junior guard Jordan Wiegold sank a 12-foot jumper just before the buzzer to give Mundelein’s boys basketball team a dramatic, 85-83 win over host North Chicago on Saturday night, and then the backup got plowed over by exited teammates at midcourt.

“I got hit hard,” Wiegold said with a laugh. “It’s a good feeling, though.”

Mundelein’s feel-good season now includes a 13-game winning streak and 19-2 record. North Chicago, which is playing its toughest schedule in school history according to coach Gerald Coleman, fell to 7-8.

Wiegold’s heroics negated a 39-point effort by North Chicago junior guard Aaron Simpson, whose runner in the lane pulled the Warhawks even at 83-83 with 12 seconds left.

“I thought the game was going to overtime, but I guess it was just had a lack of defense,” Simpson said. “We weren’t focused on the last shot. But (Wiegold) knocked it down. You got to give him credit.”

Mundelein inbounded the ball immediately after Simpson’s tying bucket, with North Chicago applying pressure. The Mustangs got the ball to Robert Knar, who split a double-team and found Sean O’Brien, who tipped a pass to a wide-open Wiegold, who wasted no time in squaring up and shooting.

“Perfect pass, caught it in rhythm and just knocked it down,” said Wiegold, who finished with 5 points.

“Jordan from 12 feet, we call it a layup,” Mustangs coach Dick Knar said. “He’s so automatic from 12-15 feet. Huge shot for him. He’s really starting to play well for us the last 10-12 games.”

Wiegold wasn’t the only Mundelein player who was clutch. Robert Knar finished with a team-high 28 points (three 3-pointers) and 7 rebounds, while Sawvell had 24 points, including a one-handed tip dunk with 1:13 left that drew oohs from even the visiting fans, and 16 rebounds. Sawvell also had 3 blocks.

Heck, even the sophomore game ended in dramatic fashion for Mundelein, with Cliff Dunigan rolling in a layup at the buzzer while falling backward to give the Mustangs an overtime win. Like Wiegold, Dunigan was mobbed by happy teammates and buried in a scrum.

North Chicago’s varsity was playing catch-up most of the night. The Warhawks led 18-15 after one quarter, but Mundelein took the lead early in the second quarter and held it until Simpson’s clutch shot in the closing seconds.

“We weren’t expecting (Mundelein) to be in that condition,” Simpson said. “We couldn’t get over that hump.”

Coleman credited senior guard Maurice Gordon, who scored 8 of his 17 points, including two 3s, in the fourth.

“Gordon stepped up,” said Coleman, whose Warhawks also got 14 rebounds from Daryle Pearson and 12 points from Marzhon Bryant. “Gordon took the pressure off Aaron so Aaron could relax.”

Leavon Head and O’Brien added 11 and 8 points, respectively, for Mundelein, which has had its share of thrilling wins, including last week’s in overtime at Zion-Benton. Sawvell has had two winning shots at the buzzer.

“We’re struggling again with getting up 8 or 10 points and then losing the lead instead of building on the lead,” Dick Knar said. “We just got absolutely annihilated on the boards.”

Simpson scored 14 points, including two of four 3s, in the fourth. His long 3-pointer, with Dickie Knar draped on him, with 29 seconds left pulled the Warhawks within 83-81.

“I can live with that,” Dick Knar said. “It’s just the lack of attitude when the guy was penetrating. We were just kind of acquiescing and backing up.”

Simpson finished 13 of 27 from the floor and 9 of 14 from the foul line. He scored a career-high 44 points against Grant in early December.

“We played good defense on Simpson,” Wiegold said. “He just made some tough shots down the stretch.”

“Corey Knigge (assistant coach) always calls them resilient,” Dick Knar said of his players. “They don’t feel that they’ve ever out of the game.”