advertisement

Inside-outside approach powers Lake Zurich

The thing about the Lake Zurich boys basketball team is that it can hurt you from anywhere on the floor - from the perimeter or in the paint.

The Bears used a combination of both to pull out a 57-54 victory over Waukegan in North Suburban Conference play Saturday evening at the Dog Pound in Waukegan.

The win avenged a loss at home to the Bulldogs way back on Dec. 1 and kept Lake Zurich on the heels of conference co-leaders Stevenson and Libertyville. The Bears have games against both in the next couple of weeks.

"We played with a lot of resolve and were smarter with our shots (in the fourth quarter)," said coach Billy Pitcher, whose Bears have won 8 in a row while improving to 19-5 overall, and a game out of first in the NSC at 6-3.

With the game tied at 48 and 3:58 left in regulation, senior guard Ryan Kutsor (11 points) hit a trey that gave Lake Zurich the lead for good at 51-48.

From there, the Bears kept it a two-possession game until the final score.

Senior forward and leading scorer Peter DiCerbo was huge in the fourth quarter, muscling his way under the rim to the tune of a couple of 3-point plays. He finished with 8 points and 6 boards despite playing about half of the game in foul trouble.

"He's so strong under the basket and bailed us out tonight," Pitcher said.

Waukegan fought valiantly in the third quarter to close the gap, thanks largely in part to junior wing player Bryant Brown, who popped in 9 of his game-high 32 points to help the Bulldogs (10-10, 3-6) get within 43-40 at the end of the third.

"The third didn't go very well," said Pitcher. "They took away the 3, and we didn't use the glass very well."

That wasn't the case in the first half when Lake Zurich torched the net from 3-point range, connecting on 8 of 11 attempts.

"That was a great first half for us," said junior guard JR Cison, who finished with a team-high 16 points, including a pair of treys in that first half. He finished with four 3s.

"We had a couple of lapses, but things are coming together," Cison said. "We moved the ball well and just tried to kick it to the outside when they collapsed on us in the middle."

Sophomore guard Will Tucker was equally hot in the first half, hitting for all 15 of his points on five 3s.

Tucker hit his last 3 with 2:03 left in the half, and a jumper by Kutsor and layup by senior guard Cole McKinley helped build that 35-25 halftime advantage.

The Bears were playing without starting guard Kenny Haynes, who was under concussion protocol from an impact in a game against Libertyville a couple of weeks ago.

Waukegan junior guard Jordan Brown complemented Bryant Brown with 16 points despite playing on a sprained ankle. The Bulldogs were without one of their top players in junior Ja'Dyn Brown.

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.