North Chicago 85, Antioch 41
Gerald Coleman was surely kidding, or at least half-kidding.
That's because no way would North Chicago's boys basketball players be silly enough to try to pull a fast one on their physically imposing, always stylishly dressed head coach.
They don't call Coleman "King" for nothing, after all.
"Basically, we didn't accomplish what we really wanted to accomplish," Coleman said after his Warhawks clinched the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division championship with an 85-41 win over visiting Antioch on Friday night.
"We worked on some things this week with our offensive sets. We were going to work on them this game, but they (North Chicago's players) kept putting up 3s. I really couldn't say anything to them because I'm sick. I couldn't get on them. They took advantage of me being sick."
Not quite.
"Oh no, no, no," said senior Kentrall Wilson, who led North Chicago with a game-high 21 points. "We wouldn't want to do that because, the next thing you know, he'd have us running."
North Chicago (19-2, 11-0) will accomplish a perfect run through the NSC Prairie with a win at Wauconda next Friday. Second-place Lakes is two games back. The division title is the Warhawks' second in three years under Coleman.
"We (seniors) are trying to do everything we can to have high standards for (juniors) Keith (Ford) and DeShawn (Chambliss) next year," Wilson said.
Ford added 17 points against Antioch (1-19, 1-10), and fellow junior Blake Collins chipped in 13. The Warhawks hit six 3-pointers, by six players.
Sophomore Kyle Haley scored 10 points (two 3s) coming off the bench to lead the Sequoits, whose season-long scoring leader, senior Mike Powell, was sick this week and did not start. Powell had 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Alec Paramski had 7 points and 11 rebounds.
Antioch actually enjoyed a 7-6 lead midway through the opening quarter, but the fast-breaking hosts scored the game's next 21 points. North Chicago led 47-22 at halftime and 74-35 after three quarters. The Warhawks forced most of Antioch's 27 turnovers.
Coleman employed 13 players and 12 scored.
"I'd kill to have three of his guys who maybe didn't even play," Antioch coach Mike Skinner said. "I told him, 'Dude, you sit there and you're eating popcorn and I'm having a heart attack.'
"I told my kids -- I joked about it in practice -- that the guy could play chess with the scorekeeper and beat us by 30. It's because his guys are disciplined, they run their stuff, and they know what to do and what not to do."