Seeing is believing as LZ rallies past Hersey

With about six minutes left in Saturday night's nonconference boys basketball game at Lake Zurich, Hersey forward Ryan Moran lost a contact lens on the floor.

Moran and some of his teammates, and even the referees, tried to help him locate it, but after a few minutes it was obvious the search was going to come up empty.

So Moran left the game and did not return because he was unable to see.

But in terms of what happened next, it's probably safe to say that Moran wasn't the only one who didn't see it coming.

Just about everyone in a Hersey uniform must have thought they were seeing things as their double-digit second-half lead evaporated and Lake Zurich pulled out a 44-41 victory.

The win moves Lake Zurich to 9-9 overall while Hersey drops to 14-9. The Bears are 9-1 in nonconference play, but still looking for their first win in the rugged North Suburban Conference Lake Division.

"They were up (by as many as 12 in the third quarter), but we just kept clawing and pulling back," Lake Zurich guard Connor Mooney said. "We just kept having people step up."

Mooney was one of those people.

The junior guard is Lake Zurich's top option on offense, but it wasn't until there was just 4:39 left in the game that he scored his first points -- two free throws.

But Mooney kept plugging away and by the final buzzer, he finished with 10 points, including an 8-of-10 performance at the line.

He hit four clutch free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the game.

"There isn't anybody -- anybody -- that I would rather have the ball in their hands at free throw time than him," Lake Zurich coach John Zarr said of Mooney. "He's an outstanding shooter, he's very cool and calm under pressure and he knocks key shots down at the line like that."

Another key for Lake Zurich was changing directions at halftime.

Zarr told his guards -- Moony, Austin Cox and Chas Evans -- that instead of working the perimeter and settling for outside shots, he wanted them attacking the basket and looking for layups -- and teammates.

"In the first half, Coach (Zarr) said it best that the guards were going east and west instead of north and south and when you go north and south you create more opportunities and get guys open and that's what we did in the second half," said Mooney, who pointed to some big plays by Brandon Kunz, who finished with a team-high 13 points.

"We made that adjustment at halftime and it paid off for us because we got to the basket and to the free throw line."

And that's exactly what Hersey didn't do.

The Huskies stopped attacking the basket toward the end of the game and were missing the outside jumpers that they settled for.

In the fourth quarter, Hersey connected on just 3 field goals.

"We didn't rebound and we didn't attack the rim," Hersey coach Steve Messer said. "We were scared with the ball. That was it."

Hersey did manage to get a game-high 17 points out of 6-foot-9 Dayton-bound forward Luke Fabrizius and 15 points from Griffin Dwyer, who poured in four 3-pointers.

"The game was in our hands and we just gave it up," Dwyer said. "That's how it's been all year when we lose and it's frustrating."

-- Patricia Babcock McGraw

Palatine 57, Stevenson 52 (OT): You had to wonder Saturday night if host Palatine would come out empty after Friday's emotionally draining loss to Schaumburg and would visiting Stevenson come out fresh after having its Friday night game against Lake Forest was postponed by the snow.

No on both counts.

Palatine came out energetic and Stevenson lifeless as the underdog Pirates (8-14) built a 14-point bulge midway through the third quarter against the Patriots in this nonconference contest.

Game over, right? Again, no.

Dylan Richter, one of the toughest power-forward matchups in Illinois, paced a second-half rally that actually put Stevenson ahead briefly.

But Palatine (8-14) maintained its poise, its eye and most important, its patience in finally pulling out a tense 57-52 overtime win.

Palatine got huge baskets inside in overtime from big Monroe Brooks (14 points) and clutch free throws from Brooks, John Castellano (11 points), Gerald Hutton (8) and Josh Rustman (11) to pull away and hold on. For the Pirates, it was a gratifying victory after so many familiar-looking losses.

"I think we've been frustrated about how we haven't been able to close out games," said point guard Hutton.

"We've been through this a lot," said Palatine coach Ed Molitor. "We hung in there. Our kids did what we asked them to do."

That included defensively and included everyone, as they harried Richter with rotating defenders, starting with the 6-foot-9 Rustman, who took him out of his game in the first half and then 6-3 forward Matt Rossi, who made the 6-3 Richter work very hard for his 20 points in the second half and overtime.

But maybe Palatine's biggest defensive play came from a little-used reserve.

"That was a big steal by Jimmy Romanek," said Castellano of the 6-1 senior's swipe of a pass that wound up giving Hutton 2 free throws in OT.

However, just when it appeared Stevenson (14-7) had climbed all the way back and would pull off a miracle win, sharpshooters Castellano and Rossi each hit 3-pointers late in the fourth to force the overtime.

That erased what had otherwise been a solid half defensively by the Pats, who committed only 2 turnovers after intermission while forcing 8 to get back in it with their half-court trap.

Stevenson's Daniel Rebnord and Henry Wood made it tough on Rustman and Brooks inside. Kevin Stineman, Todd Levitt and Michael Goldstein forced Palatine's guards into errant passes. But the overall effort wasn't good enough for coach Pat Ambrose.

"They looked fresh as a daisy. We looked lethargic (at the game's outset)," Ambrose said. "We gave up two open 3s (at the end). They were patient."

"They expended a lot (Friday) night (against Schaumburg)," Molitor said of his players. "They did tonight against a good team. This is a group of kids with good character."

-- Howard Schlossberg

Evanston 72, Warren 49: Evanston's boys basketball team was looking for some revenge Saturday night after losing to Warren three years in a row.

Call it sweet revenge.

The Wildkits romped over the host Blue Devils 72-49 in a nonconference game.

Evanston improved its record to 21-2 by using a swarming 3-2 zone defense, which caused 19 bad-pass turnovers, 10 of which led directly to points. The Wildkits also took advantage of 7 steals.

"That's the way we've played all season," Evanston coach Robert Locke Jr. said. "We really focus on our defense more than anything else. If we continue to maintain our defense, potentially down the line, that's what's going to win games for us, because you have to make stops in the playoffs. That's what we've been building up to."

Evanston senior Derryan Hunt had 14 points, 15 rebounds, 8 blocks and 5 steals. He played his freshman year for Evanston, then transferred to Niles West for two years before coming back to Evanston.

"Derryan is getting better and is getting more comfortable, Locke said "It's taken him awhile to come back and be comfortable with what we're doing but he's starting to settle in.

"He's a great athlete . He just needs to take his time. He's tough to keep off the boards and he's one of those guys who will go get the loose balls and is so active around the basket. He gets to everything and has good instincts.

Evanston's Ryan Frazier led all scorers with 15 points and dished out 12 assists coming off the bench.

"We took this game personal after losing to them (3 years) in a row," Frazier said.

He doesn't mind coming off the bench.

"My job is to see what the team is doing wrong and then come off the bench to correct it," Frazier said.

Evanston shot 29 of 53 from the floor for 51 percent. Warren (10-9), which lost its third straight, also shot 51 percent (18 of 35).

Jake Anderson led the Blue Devils with 12 points. James Poliquin scored 11 and Brandon Paul had 10.

"They caused a lot of turnovers and pressured the ball, and are quick," Anderson said. "They just came out and got their turnovers and then converted a lot of points from them. So they're pretty good defensively."

Evanston led only 18-14 midway through the second quarter, but scored 6 straight points and led 32-22 at halftime. The visitors never looked back.

"(Evanston) is one of the best defensive teams we've played this year, especially in terms of trapping and forcing turnovers," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. "They do a real good job of reading the passer, reading the eyes, reading the shoulders and stealing the ball. They get a lot of points off those game after game.

"They're considerably ahead of us this year and it showed on the court tonight."

-- Irving Solomon