Lakes 60, Vernon Hills 41

They were dressed in matching outfits.

They danced, kicked their legs and shook their pom pons -- among other things -- in perfect unison.

And oh, by the way, they … were all boys.

Yes, it quickly became clear that Friday's halftime show at Vernon Hills High School, courtesy of the school's "Guy Poms" would be a tough act to follow.

But Lakes put together an impressive fourth quarter that would finish a close second.

The visiting Eagles ballooned an 8-point lead at the start of the quarter to 19 points by the end of the game to get a 60-41 North Suburban Conference Prairie Division victory over Vernon Hills.

Lakes, which allowed just 5 points in the fourth quarter and forced Vernon Hills into a total of 23 turnovers, moves to 18-6 overall and 9-2 in the Prairie. Vernon Hills drops to 10-12 and 6-4 in the Prairie.

"We pulled away by playing hard on defense," said Lakes sophomore guard John Androus, who scored a season-high 17 points. "We pressured their guards. We were in the passing lanes and got some steals.

"We're a quick team and have good lateral movement. We like to get steals and easy buckets."

Androus got a few of those himself in the first quarter, when Lakes set the tone by forcing 10 Vernon Hills turnovers.

"Their pressure really doomed us," Vernon Hills coach Matt McCarty said. "Out of the gate, I think our first five or six possessions were turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover. That kind of sums up the game, really.

"We just have to work on better execution in practice. It's something that has bothered us all year."

Kevin Guirand also bothered Vernon Hills.

The senior Lakes forward was relentless from start to finish. He finished with 9 rebounds, 3 monster blocks and a game-high 26 points.

"Kevin is strong as an ox," Lakes coach Brian Phelan said. "It's hard to guard him."

Even in the final minutes of the game, when it was obvious that Lakes was going to run away with the victory, Guirand was banging inside for offensive rebounds -- a couple of which led to putbacks.

"I grabbed (Guirand) after the game and shook his hand and said that that was one of the best performances I've seen this year -- not only in scoring but effort. He played really, really hard," McCarty said. "He played a whale of a game. What's nice about him is that not only is he a nice athlete, he gives a great effort."

In the third quarter, Vernon Hills made a nice effort to get back into the game.

The Cougars, who got a team-high 13 points from senior forward Kenny Rideout, tied the game at 28-28, but then Lakes went on a 10-0 run to burst that bubble.

"They were pressing us pretty hard in the beginning and it took us awhile to get used to it and the difference in the game was turnovers," said freshman guard DaVaris Daniels, who added 10 points for the Cougars. "If we learn how to take care of the ball, we can be a real good team. Until we do that, it's not going to work."