Big first half helps Reed, ICCP knock off Lisle
When Austin Reed's shots weren't falling early on, his IC Catholic Prep teammates had his back in the first quarter at Lisle.
After that the Knights' 6-foot-3 senior guard heated up and the host Lions could not overcome the resulting 32-15 halftime deficit as IC Catholic Prep prevailed 58-42 to improve to 5-0 on the year.
Reed had just 2 points in the first quarter and missed all five of his 3-point attempts. Even so, the Knights built a 14-7 lead after eight minutes as Kevin Cheng hit a pair of 3s, and when Reed connected on a trio of 3s in the second quarter the Knights took a commanding lead with an 18-8 edge in the second quarter.
Reed finished with a season-best 26 points.
"He started out cold and when our leading scorer starts out cold and we still jump out to a lead that shows you the resiliency of our group," IC Catholic Prep coach T.J. Tyrrell said.
Everything went right for the Knights in the second quarter and that 32-15 halftime lead meant they could sustain their lead even after the Lions (2-3) came out strong in the second half, cutting the lead to 34-27.
"The second quarter was a big one for us," Tyrrell said. "Austin stepped up to the point. We just worked the ball around and we were patient.
"When we get everybody involved and we play at our tempo, good things have been happening."
Lions coach Mark LaScala felt the visitors fought a little harder than his players from the opening tip.
"I think they got all the loose balls in the second quarter," LaScala said. "I counted three loose balls that led to 3s for them. They were first to the ball. First to the floor. They out-competed us in the first half. That's to their credit."
To Lisle's credit, some strong defense helped them make that run in the third quarter, but the Knights did rebound to take a 42-29 lead into the final quarter.
"I thought our guys played their tail off the second half," LaScala said. "You're not going to outscore a 5-0 team by 17 in the second half very often. I mean eventually they were going to hit a shot. We dug our grave in the first half. We tried to dig ourselves out and I'm proud of our kids for their effort, but we needed to compete for four quarters and that's the bottom line."
Reed sank a pair of 3s in the third quarter, the first of which came right after Lisle had closed to within 35-27.
"It's a game of runs. We stayed focused during their run and we got back to it," said Reed, who also had 8 rebounds. "I just feel like my team found me when I was open. We run our offense every day in practice and we play to the best of our abilities. I just feel like we went out there and got it today."
Alex Meurer joined Reed in double figures with 11 points, while Tony Gaudio had 8 rebounds for unbeaten IC Catholic Prep.
For Lisle, Mark McGrath led the way with 16 points, while Josh Jamison and Jay McGrath each added 7 points. Mark McGrath and Jamison were named to the Lisle Thanksgiving all-tourney team last weekend.