Undefeated Z-B is looking unbeatable
The 2003 Zion-Benton boys basketball team rattled off 17 straight wins to start the season.
At 11-0, the current group of Zee-Bees isn't quite on par with that team, but seems to be well on its way.
Just ask Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil. He's a Bee-liever, if you will.
Zion-Benton dismantled Bogumil's Wildcats 66-41 Thursday night in Libertyville to stay perfect and run its record in North Suburban Conference Lake Division play to 5-0.
Libertyville, meanwhile, drops to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the Lake.
"(Zion-Benton) is definitely the class of the league," Bogumil said. "No one's even close."
Libertyville, however, managed to stay close to Zion-Benton for one half.
The Wildcats were down only 26-22 at halftime. But a huge spurt by the Zee-Bees to begin the second half made the fourth quarter all but a moot point.
Zion-Benton rattled off a 16-0 run that finally ended when Libertyville forward Corey Lawrence scored a layup with 2:15 left in the third quarter.
But by then, the damage was done.
The Wildcats were able to cut their deficit to under 20 points only twice after that.
"We stayed within reach in the second quarter and I'm proud of our team for that," said Libertyville guard Joey Aiello, who tallied 13 points, just 2 points shy of the team-high posted by reserve forward Myles Burton. "But the third quarter got out of hand. They hit a lot of shots, and a few right in the row that kind of set the distance.
"It's tough to come back on a team that's so athletic."
Zion-Benton's quickness on defense forced 17 Libertyville turnovers and poor shooting from the field. The Wildcats connected on only 33 percent of their shots.
"We stepped up on defense," said Zion-Benton forward Quintrell Love, who finished with a game-high 17 points. Two of his teammates also finished with double figures -- Ronald Steward had 11 points and Rodney Clinkscales had 10.
"Everybody on this team is quick and everyone hustles," Love said. "It's a good feeling right now with this team. We play as a team and we're playing pretty well."
Zion-Benton hit eight 3-pointers and had several offensive rebounds turn into baskets.
"In the first half, we were a little impatient offensively and that caused us to struggle a little bit," Zion-Benton coach Don Kloth said. "In the second half, we ran our offense better and once we hit a few shots, we relaxed. Everyone played better. It was a team effort. Overall, I was pleased with the way we played tonight.
"Hopefully, this gives us confidence, but we always talk about how we don't want to take anything for granted. We just have to take one game at a time if we want to keep winning."