Subtractions not a negative for Bison

Subtracting two leaders could have added up to disaster for Buffalo Grove.

The first negative came at 3:30 p.m. Thursday when longtime assistant coach Dave Sczepanski got the call to lead the team at Wheeling because head coach Ryan O'Connor was suffering from a severe case of strep throat.

The second came with 3:20 left in the third quarter when senior star guard Brian DeSimone had to sit next to Sczepanski with 4 fouls and BG trailing by 3 points.

But the defending Mid-Suburban East division champion Bison had multiple players come through to lead a 62-51 victory.

"I'm sure everyone was a little nervous," said BG fourth-year varsity guard Paul Timko. "When it comes down to it a lot of guys on this team can play.

"They needed their chance and saw their time to contribute to the team."

And helped BG (6-1, 2-0) turn a 33-30 deficit into a 46-42 lead during the 7½ minutes DeSimone (16 points) was off the floor.

"That's why I said we're a good team, because we're nine deep," said Sczepanski, who improved to 3-0 as a head coach at BG. "That's why we were a good team last year."

After missing his 6 first-half shots, senior Mike Ricciardi hit his next five for 11 points before leaving with 3:31 to play with a gash over his left eye that was expected to require stitches.

A steal and drive by Timko (11 points) put BG ahead to stay at 36-35.

Wheeling (2-4, 0-2) got within a point twice but each time junior reserve James Hurley answered with a 3-pointer and 2 free throws for a 43-40 BG lead with 6:03 left.

Ricciardi also hit a 3 and when he finally missed, sophomore reserve Mike Cornely cashed in for his first varsity points during his only quarter of action.

"For the most part everyone thought, 'Oh boy, Bri is out now," Timko said. "It made everyone dig down harder on defense to make some plays."

Sophomore Kevin Mulligan hit all 8 of his free throws as BG pulled away by hitting 14-for-16 in the final 2:18 and finished 22-for-28.

Wheeling guard Chris McClellan (14 points) hit all 9 of his free throws as the team went 21-for-23. But it shot only 31.7 percent from the field (13-for-41) as it couldn't build on a 29-21 lead.

"BG's bench hit some big shots when (DeSimone) left," said Wheeling senior Al Chery, who had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, "and we didn't contest shots."