BG not down about fourth

The lengthy postgame meeting signaled a stern lecture.

After going nearly five weeks without a setback, a 58-50 loss to Highland Park in the third-place game of the 33rd annual Elgin Holiday Tournament marked Buffalo Grove's second defeat in less than 24 hours.

But as the locker room door swung open, smiles beamed across faces and jokes flew between players as the Bison watched Wheaton North and Batavia battle in the championship game they desperately wanted to be a part of Saturday night.

"We just had to lighten the mood a little bit," said BG senior all-tourney pick Brian DeSimone, who scored all 15 of his points after halftime. "After four days in a row, it's kind of hard. We've got a couple days off, so we just have to regroup."

After shooting 2-of-17 from 3-point range in Friday's 63-50 loss to Batavia, it was more of the same on Saturday at Chesbrough Fieldhouse, as BG (11-3) missed 13 of 17 attempts from long range.

"We got some decent looks that we didn't make," said BG coach Ryan O'Connor.

Highland Park (12-1) wasn't having that problem en route to a 22-8 lead.

"We definitely try to come out and jump on a team early," said Highland Park senior Chris Wroblewski, who led all scorers with 23 points.

BG sophomore Kevin Mulligan scored 11 points and all-tourney pick Paul Timko added 7 points.

"We proved that we can play with elite teams, and we proved we need to play a little better if we want to beat elite teams," O'Connor said.

Batavia 49, Wheaton N. 45: Bloodied the night before, David Bryant saved his best for last on Saturday.

Batavia's junior knocked down two 3-pointers in the final minute of the championship game of the Elgin Holiday Tournament, giving the Bulldogs a dramatic 49-45 win over Wheaton North.

Bryant needed four stitches in his forehead after taking an elbow in the final minute of Friday's game with Buffalo Grove. He missed 14 of his first 16 shots against Wheaton North. But didn't flinch.

"Coach told me to just keep shooting the ball. I knew they were on target," Bryant said. "I got a couple good looks at the end and hit 'em."

Batavia's championship was its second in three years at Elgin.

But who could have expected the Bulldogs to do so without Nick Fruendt?

The Batavia star has missed the last seven games with mononucleosis. The Bulldogs (12-2) are now 5-2 in his absence.

"Getting the victories without him is really good," Bryant said, "but it's definitely better with him. Hopefully we'll get him back soon."

-- Josh Welge

Waukegan 51, Fremd 36: It wasn't the title game they wanted to be playing in or the trophy they wanted to be posing with, but the Waukegan Bulldogs did more than just improve their tournament record to 3-1 by defeating Fremd 51-36 in the consolation championship.

They improved their outlook for the unofficial second half of the season.

After losing to the Vikings 60-55 on Nov. 23 at the Fremd Thanksgiving tournament, the Bulldogs returned the favor by shooting 50 percent (20 of 40) from the field.

Waukegan (8-6) also benefited from having Jereme Richmond on the floor. He missed the first matchup because of a suspension. The Illinois recruit posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but the Vikings were pleased at how they matched up with the 6-foot-6 sophomore and the rest of the Bulldogs.

"We did a good job in the half-court, defensively," said Fremd coach Bob Widlowski. "They scored off some of our turnovers and some of our miscues."

Fremd, the consolation champion the past two seasons, led 12-5 in the first quarter after knocking down 5 of its first 7 shots. But the Vikings (6-8) were plagued by ice-cold shooting in the final 24 minutes, making only 21 percent (8-of-37).

"When we did get open shots we didn't knock them down," said Fremd senior Jim Mundt.

Chris Klimek scored 10, Dan Bruno hit two 3s and had 9 points and Will Reising scored 8 for Fremd.

-- Matt Beardmore

Meadows 69, Elgin 54: Rolling Meadows looked to end on a positive note at Elgin. The Mustangs felt leaving with 2 wins was a nice litmus test after sizing up the competition in the annual classic.

Not only did Meadows (7-6) complete the job, but all-tourney pick Kyle Gaedele and Ty Kirk showed how dangerous they are.

Gaedele and Kirk combined for 42 points in a 69-54 win over Elgin (6-7) for seventh place.

Gaedele scored 24 points and had 9 rebounds and Kirk had 18 points and 6 assists.

"This is how we win games, we push the ball inside and Kyle posts up down low, and just overpowers people," said Mustangs guard Ty Kirk.

"When Ty and I click, our team rolls," said Gaedele.

Armani Williams scored 15 points for the Maroons.

-- Steve Nichols

Hoffman 40, D-C 29: Hoffman Estates coach Bill Wandro needed a spark on offense.

Junior Chris Hall provided just that spark.

Hall finished with 10 points, and the Hawks scored the first 11 points of the second half in their 40-29 win over Dundee-Crown for 11th place.

"Coach put me in to give us a little spark off the bench," Hall said.

Leading 19-18 at halftime, D-C (5-6) was outscored 13-3 in the third quarter.

"In that third-quarter push, we had two or three minutes that decided the game," Wandro said. "The effort we showed in the third quarter was enough to push us over the edge."

The Hawks made 5 of their first 6 shots in the third. Kevin Lessner (10 points) scored on a pass from Luke Mead.

Mead jacked up a 3-pointer on the next trip down the floor to give the Hawks (9-4) a 24-18 lead. Ben Collins poured in the next 3 baskets, extending the lead to 30-18 with 3:04 left in the quarter.

Casey Terry scored 12 points for Hoffman.

-- Matt Stacionis