advertisement

Stevenson adjusts, lines up victory over Lake Zurich

Yes, they heard about it at halftime - how the taller and possibly more athletic Stevenson boys basketball team was getting beat on the boards on Tuesday night.

"They got a lot of putbacks,'' said Stevenson guard Willie Herenton. "We were being out-rebounded by 10."

Undersized Lake Zurich had opened up a double digit lead in the opening half at Stevenson. The Patriots had exactly two leads in the first quarter and that was it. Bears junior Peter DiCerbo almost had a double-double at halftime.

And then what happened?

Well, Herenton (19 points) and teammate Justin Smith nailed 15 consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter. For the Bears, if hot-shooting Brian Chmiel (14 points, 3 3-pointers) hadn't nailed a 3 in the final seconds, the Bears would have scored just 1 point in the fourth quarter.

Stevenson (19-4, 11-1) clinched at least a tie for the North Suburban Conference title. The Pats outscored the Bears 17-4 in the final quarter and posted a 50-40 win.

"That was ugly,'' admitted Stevenson senior Aidan O'Connell. "Lake Zurich did a lot of things well. But that was good that we can come back in the fourth quarter."

DiCerbo was clearly the culprit behind the board work in the opening half. On his back-to-back scores in the second quarter, the Bears (17-9, 4-7) opened up a 17-8 lead. On Michael Bens' 3-pointer, the Bears' lead jumped to 20-11.

"We gave up too many offensive rebounds,'' said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose. "Lake Zurich is a good team. They had us back on our heels."

Herenton began to counter the Bears with some drives to the hoop. The senior scored 7 of his team's 13 points in the second quarter.

"We knew Lake Zurich would come with intensity after we beat them the first time,'' Herenton said. "We knew that we would have to play better defense in the second half."

Herenton's steal and bucket cut the Bears' halftime lead to 26-20.

Chmiel began to find the range with his 3-point shot in the third quarter. On his second one, the Bears' lead was restored to 34-27 late in the period.

And then free throw parade began for the Pats. Smith (15 points, 9 rebounds) and Herenton combined to go 16-for-16 at the free throw line.

"Fifteen in a row is pretty good,'' Ambrose noted.

"I know I didn't miss any,'' Herenton added.

The brilliant free throw shooting led to an 13-0 run by the Pats.

O'Connell, was especially effective in the final quarter with steals and rebounds.

"Aidan is a gifted player in that regard,'' Ambrose said.

O'Connell also tossed a compliment to the visitors.

"Lake Zurich always find a way to hit 3-pointers,'' O'Connell said. "Their coach does a great job with them."

It wasn't all free throws for the winning Pats. Smith accented the win with a resounding dunk in the final 20 seconds. DiCerbo finish 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.