Zion-Benton edges out Warren
It's too bad someone had to lose this one.
But it's Warren and Zion-Benton, and when these two lock horns in a boys basketball game, you can throw out the records because chances are something exciting is about to unfold.
And Friday night was no different in Gurnee as the Zee-Bees overcame a double-digit deficit to pull out a thrilling 70-67 victory.
"That was an awesome game," said Zee-Bees head coach Bobby Worthington, whose team improved to 12-5 overall and 3-4 in the North Suburban Lake. "We're a young team but we've been fighting and fighting and tonight we finally pulled out one of those close games."
It didn't look promising in the beginning as Warren (8-11, 2-5) jumped out of the gates like gangbusters. Senior shooting guard Jacob Falish went nuts in dropping in five first-quarter treys as Warren built a 24-12 lead after the opening stanza. Falish wound up finishing with a career-high 31 points, including 9 from behind the arc.
The Blue Devils stayed the course in the second quarter, but when you're Zion and you have a player on your team like Tennessee-bound Admiral Schofield, no deficit is impossible to overcome.
After pumping in 9 points in the first quarter, the 6-foot-6 senior forward kept it going by adding 8 more in the second as the visitors trimmed the lead down to 7 at 42-35 heading into the locker room. Schofield finished with 24 points and 11 boards. But it's his leadership that perhaps pays the biggest dividends.
"We just try and stay as mellow as possible," he said. "We were patient and showed better decision-making tonight. I'm like the old guy on a young team now and I always tell the guys it's inch by inch, and we showed a lot of grit tonight."
Zion did exactly that over the next quarter and a half, kept inching closer.
Junior forward Kienan Baltimore and sophomore guard Damarquis Henry were big contributors. Henry's 3-pointer with 4:30 left in regulation gave Zion its first lead at 66-64.
Warren answered right back and tied it at 66-66 after junior center Zachary Schultz fed junior guard Maurice Chambers for a beautiful backdoor layup. But then it was Baltimore's turn, hitting a 3-pointer that gave Zion the lead for good at 68-66 with 2:56 left. Junior point-guard DeShawn Wilson then hit a couple of free throws in the final 10 seconds to help seal the deal for the Zee-Bees. Baltimore finished with 22 points, while Henry netted 13.
"We played our hearts out," said Schultz, who finished with 6 points. "Our defense just broke down in the fourth and we couldn't hit a few shots at the end."
Meanwhile, Chambers complemented Falish by pouring in 22 points for Warren, which seems to be finding its identity at the right time of the season.
"We battled and got after them, but in the end we definitely let one get away," said Blue Devils coach Ryan Webber. "Our defense was a step slow, which is uncharacteristic for us, but we are heading in the right direction."
Both teams are off until next Wednesday, when Warren travels to Mundelein and Zion-Benton ventures to Lake Zurich.