N. Chicago 81, Wauconda 48
The lingering effects of its 69-54 loss to Loyola in the title game of the Wheeling Hardwood Classic last week still haunted North Chicago as the Warhawks continued North Suburban Prairie play against visiting Wauconda on Friday night.
Though North Chicago held a 13-8 early first quarter advantage, coach Gerald Coleman could see his team still feeling the pain of its second loss of the season.
"I think they just needed to be reminded that the sun will come up the next day," Coleman said. "It was a tough loss to Loyola and I could see that the guys hadn't gotten over it yet."
Coleman called a timeout to settle his team down and it seemed to work wonders for the Warhawks' confidence. North Chicago scored the next 23 points and cruised to an 81-48 win over the Bulldogs.
"I think that was kind of a wakeup call for us," Coleman said. "We just needed to snap out of it and get back to playing ball."
North Chicago (11-2, 5-0) started its run with a pair of 3-pointer to end the first quarter. Keith Ford, who led the Warhawks with 16 points, drained his second 3-pointer of the quarter, and then Patrick Terrell (10 points) hit a long 3 to end the quarter.
Wauconda (7-9, 1-4) was its own worst enemy to start the second quarter, committing turnovers on each of its first four possessions. North Chicago extended the 23-0 run by forcing 6 Wauconda turnovers in the quarter and holding the Bulldogs to 10 straight missed shots in the process.
The Bulldogs avoided being shut out in the quarter on a layup by Josh Mangioni as time expired in the first half.
"North Chicago is a quick and athletic team and we knew we had to get back on defense, and we didn't get back as well as I would have liked," Wauconda coach Rich Wolf said. "We had to match their energy and intensity and that didn't happen early."
The Warhawks built a 36-10 halftime advantage, but Wauconda and forward Eric Grozavescu wouldn't quit.
Grozavescu scored 9 of his team-high 16 points in the third quarter as Wauconda kept battling.
"(Grozavescu) is a guy we expect to score inside, and we had some good opportunities for him in the second half," Wolf said.
Ford and Terrell were two of five Warhawks to score in double figures. Kentrall Wilson (10 points), Chris Bryant (10 points) and Chris Hill (11 points) were the others.