Zion-Benton's second-half surge sinks Mundelein
Despite a scarcity of wins, there have been many times this season when Mundelein's boys basketball team has kept it close.
And once again, the Mustangs were playing right with the Zee-Bees for the first half Friday - before the Mustangs got stung in the second half.
Zion-Benton pulled away late and got past host Mundelein 90-77 in a North Suburban Lake Division boys basketball game in Mundelein.
Sophomore Tommy Marcotte had a career-best 32 points in leading the Mustangs (1-14, 0-5). Another sophomore, Andrew Silva, dropped in 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and Aaron Woolford scored 14.
"I thought we had it going against them in the first half," said Marcotte, who dropped in six 3s. "But the three-minute stretch in the third quarter got to us. We did try to get back into it and chip away at the lead. I think my shooting was getting everyone going, because everyone starts shooting better and we play off each other as a team."
Mundelein came out with plenty of intensity to start the game and stayed right with Zion-Benton (12-4, 4-1). The Mustangs controlled the pace of play and had several leads in the opening quarter before heading into the second quarter at a 1-point deficit.
"I thought we defended and handled (Zion-Benton's) pressure well," Mundelein coach Corey Knigge said. "I thought we played aggressively. (Zion-Benton) can be tough to beat when they start hitting their shots."
In the second quarter, it was a back and forth battle, with the lead changing hands several times. Marcotte dropped in a trey in the final seconds that left the Mustangs trailing 40-39 at the break.
What looked like it me be a momentum-swing in favor of Mundelein didn't turn out that way.
Zion-Benton came out the aggressor in the third quarter while Mundelein seemed to lack intensity.
"Give (Mundelein) credit, they played good defensively and played fast in the first half," Zion-Benton coach Bobby Worthington said. "It was a matter of executing and matching the execution. It was a matter of executing our offense and knowing what to look for in the second half. Our kids were able to figure things out."
The Zee-Bees outscored the Mustangs 27-10 in the third quarter, extending their lead to 67-49.
"The third quarter we had no energy and I don't know why," Knigge said. "We've got to know how to adjust to that if we're not hitting our jump shots - we need to get the ball to the basket. They had all the aggression in that quarter."
Mundelein tried to recover in the final quarter. The Mustangs closed within 9 points on a few occasions in the final minutes.
The Zee-Bees were led by DeMarques Henry with 24 points (including six 3s) and Kienan Baltimore added 14.