Shields, Grant pierce Wauconda

Grant has Shields --and lots of weapons.

Sure, Mike Shields continues to score far and away more points than any of his teammates, but the Bulldogs are proving they're not just a one-man team.

Grant defeated host Wauconda 66-52 Tuesday night to improve to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division.

"We got a lot of depth on the team," senior forward Aaron Wehde said. "We got talent. If we just keep playing like we can, we'll keep winning."

Grant handed Wauconda its first loss in its new gym, as Shields poured in 29 points. The senior guard also collected 8 steals, dished out 6 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds.

Shields is averaging 26 points per game.

Not that Wauconda coach Rich Wolf can necessarily explain it. Shields isn't always pretty, but he finds ways to score and make an impact.

"The kid just has that moxie," Wolf said. "He doesn't care if he comes out and turns the ball (over) 10 times. That's not going to affect him. He just continues to play, and he makes plays for them."

"Well, I care if he turns the ball over 10 times," said Grant coach Phil Ralston, smiling. "When he does play under control, I think he's one of the top players in the county. And in the open floor, I'm not sure that there's a tougher kid to guard in the county."

Wauconda had a hard time guarding any Grant player, as the visitors shot 56 percent from the floor (23 of 41). Ralston credited his team's shot selection.

Curtis Oler added 13 points for Grant, while Wehde came off the bench to score 11 points and stab a team-high 9 rebounds.

"The last two games he's really stepped up," Ralston said of Wehde, who scored 11 points in his first varsity start against Antioch last Friday. "Defensively, we would have liked to have seen him do some things that he's been doing in other games, but offensively he gave us high-percentage shots, and that's what he can do for us.

"What I really like about this team is that we got probably seven or eight kids that could score double figures on any given night."

Wauconda (4-2, 0-2) enjoyed a 16-12 lead early in the second quarter when Connor Dimick hit a pull-up jumper. But the second of Shields' four 3-pointers started a 9-0 run. Scott Wahl (10 points) hit back-to-back shots, including a 3, to pull Wauconda even at 21-21.

Shields' baseline jumper gave Grant the lead again, and the visitors never relinquished it.

Grant outscored Wauconda 24-10 in the second quarter to lead 34-24.

"We came out in the first quarter and we had a lot of good energy," Wolf said. "We were doing some good things defensively, and then all of a sudden we just fell apart in the second quarter. We lost our energy and we lost our composure. We started just turning the rock over, and Grant made us pay."

Wauconda got as close as 42-38 late in the third on a put-back by Eric Grozavescu (12 points, 8 rebounds), but Shields' fall-away 3 helped keep the home team at bay.

Dimick led Wauconda with 17 points, including a four-point play.

"This is the best Connor looked," Wolf said of his junior point guard. "He was flying all over the place defensively, he was getting in the passing lanes, and he was getting a hand on passes."