Grayslake North responds to Hampshire's challenge

It's never been easy for Grayslake North this season despite the commonly lopsided outcomes the Knights have put up during their unbeaten stretch to start the boys basketball season.

But a more pointed challenge was bound to come, and it arrived in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division contest with visiting Hampshire on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Aidan Einloth and his teammates were more than ready for the challenge the Whip-Purs provided.

In the end, the outcome was the same as it has been in the previous 11 games for the Knights. Thanks to a career-high 28-point performance from the MIT-bound Einloth and a 48-point second half team scoring outburst, Grayslake North improved to 12-0 with a 79-63 win over Hampshire.

Grayslake North improved its league mark to 5-0 with a big divisional contest at Prairie Ridge looming Tuesday night.

"We really needed a game like this," said Einloth, who scored 23 after halftime. "We know that teams are going to come out and put pressure on us, and in the second half we came out and played smart and hard into the fourth quarter, which is something we haven't had to do that much."

Hampshire (3-10, 1-3) took a 35-31 lead into halftime and led 38-32 in the third quarter thanks to the long-range shooting of senior Luke Tuttle and the resurgence - and good health - of junior Brennen Woods.

"(Brennen) brings us a presence that can score, length on the perimeter and defensive rebounding," said Hampshire coach Ben Whitehouse. "Tonight was the first time we have had everyone together playing and healthy in a month and a half, so that was good to see."

The Knights' comeback started with an 11-2 run ignited by the silky smooth efforts of junior Jamal Thomas. His slick pass to a cutting Bobby Krebs turned into a 3-point-play that gave North the lead for good at 43-42 with 4:19 to go in the third.

Then it was Einloth's turn. He scored 6 straight points to put Grayslake North up 54-49 after three.

"We have been fortunate and a lot of that we have earned," said Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh. "But when you play teams like Hampshire that put up 25, 30 three-pointers, we are going to have halves like that. I am glad we did and I was pleased to see how we responded."

Another big run to start the fourth quarter was the final blow to the Hampshire upset bid. A 12-4 burst took the margin to 66-53 with 4:07 to play.

"I think we got caught up in the first half shooting a lot of 3s because that's what Hampshire does to you," Grunloh said. "In the second half we got back to playing the way we wanted to play and the results came."

Thomas matched his season best with 22 points for the Knights and also had 6 six assists. Krebs scored all but 2 of his 15 points in the second half while Einloth added 9 boards and 8 assists.

Woods was dominant for the Whip-Purs, contributing team-bests of 21 points and 6 rebounds. Tuttle added a dozen points and senior Deion Garcia had 13, including 10 in the second half.