Bogus' momentum-changing effort lifts Lake Park past Naperville Central

Lake Park was struggling to find its way Saturday against Naperville Central at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic.

Then, in the space of about a minute to begin the second quarter, the effort of senior guard Kenny Bogus turned the momentum — and the fortunes of the Lancers — completely around.

First Bogus made a steal in the backcourt and fed teammate Andrew Vega for a layup.

Then the senior hit an 8-footer in the lane, and at the other end blocked a Redhawks shot attempt.

Lake Park ran out to another easy basket thereafter and the Lancers were on their way to a 51-45 win and the third-place tournament trophy.

It was the second straight year at Wheeling that Lake Park won their final game, as they took the title last season.

“Kenny has a lot of potential that we ask him to live up to,” said Lancers coach Josh Virostko. “I know he gets tired of hearing it from us, but I think he realizes that we see something special in him.”

The Lancers' win offset a tremendous performance from Naperville Central senior Matthew Meier, who scored a game-high 16 points and led a late Redhawks rally that just fell short.

“Matthew is our leading scorer and he's basically another coach on the floor,” said Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer. “The problem is, he was a little gassed. He's got a lot of stamina, but you can't play your best when your tired, so we've got to find a way to get him off the floor.”

Lake Park (7-4) enjoyed an almost double-digit lead from the mid-second quarter on until 2 free throws by Naperville Central junior Nick Kramer late in the fourth got the Redhawks to within 45-40.

Naperville Central was able to get as close as 46-42 when 6-foot-4 senior Brendan Baskin hit a running hook shot in the lane with 39 seconds left.

But the Lancers were able to close the game out at the free throw line, as senior Mitchell Jarosinski sank some clutch foul shots in the final seconds.

Lake Park made 14 free throws in the final quarter but also missed 7.

“That almost cost us,” said Virostko of the uneven performance at the foul line. “It all comes down to mental toughness, but we're a young team and we're still learning how to win.

“Tonight was a big step in the right direction. We've been on a good run, and we always feel very lucky to beat Naperville Central. We always get up for them because we've got so much respect for their program.”

Jarosinski (14) and Bogus (13) led the Lake Park effort, with Jarosinski finishing 10-of-14 from the line.

Baskin scored 11 points for Naperville Central (9-4) while Harry Hallstrom added 6 points in the fourth quarter when the Redhawks were making their run.

“We had a tough loss the other night (to Libertyville in the semis) and that was difficult to bounce back from,” said coach Kramer. “I thought our defense improved in the second half tonight, but we had too many missed layups and couldn't rebound when we needed to. We also missed too many free throws, which was unfortunate because we're a very good free throw shooting team.”