Knights' Reed earns high all-around rating

Kevin Reed did everything short of selling tickets and working the concession stand Tuesday night.

Reed had 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks as Prospect snapped a 3-game losing streak with a 49-38 Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover win over Palatine in Mt. Prospect.

The inspired effort from Reed was in response to a message he received from his teammates.

"We had a survey in one of our practices last week," Reed said. "Each player on our team rated each person's effort on our team.

"I got a pretty bad rating, so I took that (motivation) into the game. The rest of the week I just tried as hard as I could."

Reed also helped limit the Pirates' inside force, Josh Rustman, to only 2 points in the first half before the 6-foot-9 Palatine senior fouled out with 11 points and 2 steals.

Reed's all-around performance showed that, when motivated, the 6-6 junior is capable of anything.

"When he wants to do it, (there isn't anything he can't do)," Prospect coach John Camardella said. "He really is becoming one of the better post players in the area. And slowly Kevin is slowly figuring out how good Kevin is.

"The team knows and the coaching staff knows. Every once in a while he'll give you a smile and let you know that he gets it."

Alex Toth had 10 points and 11 rebounds and Jeff Heiden added 11 points for the Knights (8-8), who trailed 35-34 early in the fourth quarter before ending the game on a 15-3 run.

"I just think that we didn't stay together as a team," Rustman said. "Their run as a team just broke us down and we lost our composure."

Monroe Brooks and Matt Rossi each scored 9, and Gerald Hutton added 3 steals for the Pirates (6-9), who had a 3-game winning streak snapped.

"We were not in sync all game and I think (Prospect) had a lot to do with that," Palatine coach Ed Molitor said. "They played very hard and played very well together offensively and defensively. They seemed to be a step ahead of us all night. I just don't think we played very smart when it came down to finishing the game."

The Knights shot 23-of-37 for the game and Camardella credited his guards for spacing the floor and creating open looks in the post for Reed and Toth.