Grayslake Central 61, Cary-Grove 55 (OT)
Each team battled for the lead the entire game before visiting Grayslake Central was able to pull away in overtime for a 61-55 victory over Cary-Grove in a Fox Valley Conference opener.
Paul Tometich tried to play the hero and nearly did, but his game-high 19 points, which included an amazing shot at the end of regulation to force overtime, just wasn't enough to fend off the Rams.
Grayslake Central led 50-47 when Cary-Grove called a time out to set up a play. Even though the Rams overplayed him, Tometich somehow received the ball with three seconds on the clock and was able to free up just enough space to nail a 3-pointer about 3 feet from the top of the arch to tie the game at the buzzer.
"I saw they were denying me the ball, but made a cut back and got the ball. I then just put it between my legs once and stepped back and shot it," said Tometich. "I was just really excited when it went in."
The shot seemed to stun the Rams, who stood on the court momentarily in disbelief.
"(Mike) Davis was there (defending) and (Tometich) had to lean back and shoot over him," said Rams coach Tim Bowen. "That was just a great ballplayer making a great shot."
Cary-Grove's fans erupted and the momentum seemed to be in the Trojans' favor going into overtime, but the Rams pulled themselves together and were able to pull away with the win.
"When we came to the bench and huddled up, one of the kids yelled get your heads up. After that I looked around and saw every one looking up at me. All five players' eyes were focused on me," said Bowen.
Mike Davis sure came out focused. He had 6 of his team-high 17 points in the overtime.
"Coach really stresses mental toughness, and we practice staying mentally tough in practice," said Davis.
Mike Brumm also stepped up big in clutch time and never counted them out of the game, scoring 9 of his 14 points down the stretch and some costly Trojan turnovers allowed the Rams to pull off the win.
"A couple careless turnovers and our baseline defense just wasn't good enough," said C-G coach Ralph Schuetzle. "Offensively we didn't take advantage when we did have good defense. I feel all of that effort went to waste."