DeSimone, Bison hold off Lakes

Coach Ryan O'Connor knows where his strengths lie on his Buffalo Grove basketball team.

With 12 seconds left and the game knotted at 64-64, it was no surprise which player clad in blue and orange would be taking the final shot for the Bison.

"We would be silly not to have Brian (DeSimone) take the final shot," O'Connor said of his senior guard.

DeSimone, despite not having his best game of the season, drew a foul as he drove the lane with 3.9 seconds remaining, proceeded to knock down a pair of free throws, and sealed the Bison's 66-64 victory over the Lakes Eagles in the Bison Thanksgiving Classic.

"I was just going to the hole and was probably going to settle for a jump shot," a modest DeSimone said. "I just wanted to hit the free throws and get out of there."

The Bison (3-0) by no measure played their best game of the early season, struggling to counter the fast- break attack of Lakes (1-2).

"We talked about prior to the game contesting their 3-point shots and keeping the ball out of number 33's (Kevin Guirand) hands," O'Connor said. "They hit open threes and he (Guirand) had 25 points. Lakes deserves all the credit in the world for getting the job done."

Guirand, a versatile threat for the Eagles, in addition to leading all scorers, led his team in rebounding with nine.

BG, which will play for the title at 7:30 p.m. today in a rematch of last year's Class AA sectional semifinal loss to Stevenson, trailed 27-22 late in the second quarter.

Senior forward Frederico Iudica, who led BG in scoring, took it upon himself to ignite a 10-2 rally to end the first half, giving them a 3-point lead at the break.

Iudica (20 points, 3 rebounds), an exchange student from Italy, has provided a noticeable spark this year for the Bison.

Although new to the country, Iudica is well-versed in the game of basketball and credits his performance to the play of his teammates.

"As Brian and Paul (Timko) penetrate, it allows all the shooters to have good space on the outside," Iudica said.

Trading leads throughout the third, BG entered the fourth with a 1-point advantage.

Thanks in large part to timely free-throw shooting by senior Mike Ricciardi and sophomore Kevin Mulligan, who were a combined 6-for-6 in the final minutes, the Bison were able to hold off the relentless Eagles.

"From the free throw line, (I'm) extremely happy with how we played, O'Connor said as the Bison finished 15-for-19. "If you can take care of the ball, make free throws, and contest shots, you are going to win games down the stretch.

"We only did two of those tonight, but fortunately for us it was enough."