Brust's 30 leads Mundelein; LZ, GC also win
Losing to Crystal Lake Central earlier this week was a wakeup call for Mundelein's boys basketball team.
Mundelein lit up the scoreboard Saturday, knocking down 13 3-pointers, missing the tournament record by one, in rolling past Johnsburg 87-55 for the Consolation "B" (third-place teams) in the Jacobs Holiday Tournament.
The Mustangs (10-4) finished 4-1 in the tourney thanks to their third straight win.
Mundelein sophomore Ben Brust scored a career- and game-high 30 points, Navjot Singh added 17 and Ken Branch chipped in 10 and 7 rebounds.
"We wanted to do what makes us look good," Mundelein coach Dick Knar said. "Once we got our identity back, we were able to play a lot better. That's good, tough defense and communication.
"The last game (Friday's win over Prairie Ridge) and this game we've turned the corner, playing like we normally do. Guys were being patient and passing up shots that they normally hit. We always try to go from the inside out. It's a product of what we normally play."
Brust had a 26-point game against Wauconda earlier in the tournament and eclipsed that mark against Johnsburg (7-6, 2-3) by a point thanks to six 3s.
"I've been struggling a bit shooting the last couple of days and had one good game against Wauconda," Brust said. "What really helped me a lot was that I had all my teammates and my coaches back me up. They all gave me confidence and I felt good out there today.
"Guys were looking for me and I felt pretty good out there. I let it ride and hoped (the shots) would go in."
Mundelein broke the game open in the first quarter by using an 18-2 to take a 22-6 lead into the second quarter. Brust hit back-to-back 3s to end the quarter.
He kept on firing, scoring 12 more points before halftine, as the Mustangs extended the lead to 45-26.
Johnsburg was led by Mike Dixon with 17 points and C.J. Fiedorowicz with 11 and 7 rebounds. The 6-foot-7 Fiedorowicz got in foul trouble early, causing problems for the Skyhawks.
"If I was coaching against us, that would be a good move," Johnsburg coach Matt Ryndak said. "(Mundelein) went right at him. Mundelein is a great team -- great guards and kids that can shoot."
The Mustangs head to Arizona for a couple of games this week. They'll play Boulder Creek on Thursday and defending Arizona state champ Desert Mountain on Friday.
-- Rusty Silber
Lake Zurich 65, Morton 58: At Morton, Connor Mooney scored a career-high 26 points, as the Bears won their third game in two days.
Lake Zurich (7-6, 3-1) won the consolation bracket in the 43rd Annual Pekin Insurance Holiday Tournament.
Mooney, who was the Bears' lone representative on the all-tournament team, made 9 of 16 shots, including 4 of 8 from three-point range. He was also 4 of 4 from the foul line and recorded 3 steals.
Andy Garlisch added a season-best 19 points and 6 rebounds, while Danny Coleman and Brandon Kunz each had 8 points. Kunz also collected 10 rebounds.
Grayslake C. 54, Springfield 44: At Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center, the Rams wrapped up the State Farm Holiday Classic by rebounding from their loss to De La Salle on Friday.
Mike Davis led Grayslake Central (9-4, 3-1) with 16 points. Andrew Sipes added 12, and Alex Anderson chipped in 9.
Wauconda 56, Lindbloom 34: At Jacobs, the Bulldogs wrapped up tournament play by winning for the second straight day.
Connor Dimick and Eric Grozavescu scored 19 and 17 points, respectively, for Wauconda (7-8, 2-3).
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 at Elgin.
They improved their outlook for the unofficial second half of the season.
"It's an evolving puzzle and we're still trying to figure out guys' roles and get a rotation set," said Waukegan first-year coach Ron Ashlaw. "These last three games we've been able to do that."
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 Klimak scored 10 points, Dan Bruno hit two 3s and had 9 points, and Will Reising added 8 for Fremd.
Naudgee Carpenter had 11 points for Waukegan, which was led in scoring by senior Rashaan Melvin. The 6-foot-2 guard tallied 7 of his game-high 14 points during a 13-0 second-quarter run.
"It's nice to have something and not go home empty-handed," Melvin said. "We lost our first game (70-61 to Neuqua Valley), but we bounced back."
-- Matt Beardmore