A fast lesson for Grayslake North from North Chicago

Add North Chicago coach Gerald Coleman to the growing list of fans of Grayslake North point guard Jamal Thomas.

"Why do you have to do that to us?" Coleman joked as Thomas approached him on the way out of Grayslake North's gym following Wednesday night's Northern Lake County Conference game. "You play so hard. I really love your game.

"If I had him," Coleman added, turning to a reporter, "I guarantee we'd make it to Peoria (downstate)."

With Thomas on the opposing team, North Chicago had to sweat out a 71-63 win on the road, as the Knights trimmed a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to four with less than a minute left.

A pair of breakaway dunks by Simeon Henton, who scored a team-high 21 points, sealed the win for North Chicago (3-2, 2-0).

Thomas led Grayslake North (5-2, 1-1) with a season-high 29 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds. He was 12 of 12 from the free-throw line and 8 of 17 from the floor (one 3-pointer).

"It was a very humbling game, just because we didn't expect it to be this close," said Thomas, who's averaging 22.6 points in his team's first seven games. "It wasn't necessarily a good loss, but we can learn a lot from this. The high-tempo pace that they played at is good for us."

The two teams could develop a good rivalry as members of the new NLCC. Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh recalls playing North Chicago only once, in the regionals a few years ago.

"You could tell," Grunloh said. "We can try to simulate what they do, but obviously what we have on our roster doesn't simulate that. Obviously we're disappointed that we lost, especially on the home court, but I was really proud of the way we responded."

North Chicago led 56-46 after three and still enjoyed that 10-point margin for nearly the first three minutes of the fourth. But Thomas hit a jumper and then converted a three-point play, and it was suddenly "game on" again.

"We reestablished how we wanted to play," Grunloh said.

North Chicago kept answering. The Warhawks went up 67-59 with 1:36 left on a layup by Kentrell Burns (9 points). But back came Thomas, as he hit 2 free throws and then stole the ball and dribbled the length of the floor for a layup to make it 67-63 with 52 seconds to go.

"We didn't think we'd keep up with them as much or that there would be as much back-and-forth (play)," Thomas said. "It was a really good game."

Coleman was impressed with the Knights' resiliency.

"Coach (Grunloh) did a heck of a job, and I'll tell you why," Coleman said. "We believe the third and fourth quarters belong to us. (Grayslake North) fought in the fourth quarter. Most teams will fold."

Terrell Grier and Pierce Coleman (the coach's nephew) added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for North Chicago. Grayslake North's James Connolly had 13 points and 7 rebounds, while Jon Smithson and Ryan Connolly had 9 points apiece for the Knights.

North Chicago was efficient on offense, particularly in the second half in building its lead. The Warhawks sank 10 of 15 shots in the third quarter and 7 of 12 in the fourth.

"We've been shooting poorly," Gerald Coleman said. "We've been putting up a lot of shots, and that's making us play extra hard on defense because we're not scoring. Our pressure defense is not quite there yet, but it's probably about 90 percent where I want it."