Another clutch victory in favor of Lake Zurich

Overtimes. Buzzer beaters. Do-or-die last possessions.

No problem.

Little seems to faze the Lake Zurich boys basketball team, which won yet another close-shave game on Monday night. The Bears edged Niles North in the championship game of their own Martin Luther King Classic, 61-58 in overtime.

Senior point guard Nick Penny hit 6 straight free throws over the final 1:55 of overtime to seal it for Lake Zurich (16-4), which also got a clutch 3-pointer from Ryan Kutsor with 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 52 and send the game into the extra session.

It was Lake Zurich's second overtime win of the season, but its fourth win on the last possession. Niles North (15-6) had an open 3-point attempt in the final seconds that would have tied the game, but it just missed.

"There's just something about this team where we never feel worried," said Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher, whose team has also beaten Grant in overtime, beaten Maine East and Carmel on buzzer beaters and beaten Freeport by 2 points.

"We've been in close games and we've won them all, except for the (Springfield) Lanphier game (in the Pekin Holiday Tournament championship). I think it's our leaders, (Nick) Penny and (Nick) Meyer too. But especially with Penny. When you have a point guard like that who can take care of the ball and you know he's going to knock down free throws, that just gives everyone a lot of confidence."

Penny, the tournament's most valuable player, scored a game-high 23 points and was clutch at the line down the stretch, going 8-for-8 from the line over the fourth quarter and overtime period.

"We were always confident because we've been through stuff like this before," said Penny, who hit 13-of-14 free throws overall. "We're just mentally tough as a team. We're never worried or overwhelmed by any moment like this. We've just been through a lot together, summer leagues, fall leagues. It's a close group and that helps too. We always trust in each other."

Last year, Lake Zurich won the tournament championship with a 4-1 record on tiebreakers over Palatine, Vernon Hills and Niles North, which also had 4-1 records.

This year, the Bears won the tournament championship outright with a 5-0 record. The tournament, which began in 2013, has also been won by Carmel (2014) and Niles North (2013).

"We came in second (over Christmas) at Pekin and we didn't win our Thanksgiving tournament (at Grant), and last year we won three tournaments, so we really needed to win this one to try to kind of make up for losing our first two tournaments already," Penny said. "It was nice to win this one, especially on our home court."

Michael Bens and Meyer also scored in double-figures for Lake Zurich. Bens had 13 points on 2 three-pointers while Meyer, who also made the all-tournament team, had 12 points.

Crishawn Cook, who made the all-tournament team for Niles North, scored a team-high 22 points while Damaria Franklin added 13 points and Kaleb Canonigo had 12 points on 4 three-pointers.

Franklin had the open look from 3-point range that just missed in the final seconds.

"We got the look we wanted, a wide-open 3, from one of our top scorers and shooters," Niles North coach Glenn Olson said. "You hope those things go down.

"We did a great job of not panicking. But (Lake Zurich) did a great job of knocking down free throws down the stretch."