Consistent improvement as Rolling Meadows tops Waubonsie Valley

For Rolling Meadows' boys basketball team, it's all about the process.

The process of trust - of not dwelling on mistakes and believing in, well, the process. Just ask the Mustangs, who displayed their belief Tuesday afternoon in a consolation bracket 59-49 win over Waubonsie Valley at York's Jack Tosh Tournament.

"It's about consistency, playing within the process," said forward John Lothery, who shrugged off foul trouble to score 13 points but set up 4 more by standing in and taking a charge that lead to 2 Jared Murphy free throws and creating a steal that would result in 2 Jack Schoessling free throws. He and Schoessling both finished with 13 points, Schoessling knocking down 8 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter.

For Meadows, which plays De La Salle at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a consolation semifinal, the pair of wins they've registered in this holiday event are particularly gratifying after a string of close losses, part of a tough schedule to date.

"It feels awesome to get two wins," said Lothery. "It's such a tough tournament."

The Mustangs, who feel like they are better than their 3-9 record would indicate, began to pull away in the second quarter when Schoessling and Hank Holm hit 3-pointers and Murphy, who paced everyone with 18 points, continued his hot hand. They extended into double-digits thanks to the shooting of Murphy, Lothery and Tony Taibi, a solid contributor off the bench.

Waubonsie Valley never got closer than 7 again, and Meadows stretched the lead to as wide as 16 when Matt Wojcik hit 2 free throws in the fourth quarter after closing the third with a shot block on sharpshooter Justin Mullinax' 3-point attempt.

But Meadows finished shooting 18 of 31 from the floor and 6 of 11 on 3-pointers.

"When a team shoots that big a percentage against us, we're not doing a good job closing out on their shooters," said coach Chaz Taft, who watched his Waubonsie Valley team slip to 3-10. While Mullinax showed a deadeye touch on the perimeter with a team-high 15 points and Jaquan Bowman showed great athleticism around the basket in adding 10, Waubonsie could only muster up 18-of-44 shooting against Meadows' staunch defense.

"Our defense was really good," said Mustangs coach Kevin Katovich, whose club was dead even on the boards with the taller Warriors, thanks to Lothery, Murphy, Taibi and Ryan Loboda.

Waubonsie Valley plays McHenry on Wednesday afternoon, and Taft says improvement will come.

"We just have to trust each other on offense and defense," he said.

Meadows, hoping to get a shot at the consolation title, is already solidly on that improvement track, as indicated by its confident shooting, positive posture, even after a gaffe, and better results.

"We're making our own breaks," said Katovich.

"If we make a mistake, we just keep going," said Lothery. "We kind of focus on what's next."

You know, the process.