Lake Zurich 61, Palatine 46
Hitting a short turnaround to start the game was a good sign Monday night for Lake Zurich junior Brandon Kunz.
"It can be (my signature shot)," the 6-foot-6 Kunz said. "If they're falling for me I definitely like it."
Kunz and the 14th-seeded Bears loved what they saw in their Class 4A boys basketball regional quarterfinal at Palatine.
He scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter as the Bears rolled 61-46 to end the head coaching career of Ed Molitor after 32 years at Palatine and 39 years overall.
Junior guard Connor Mooney led all scorers with 20 points as the Bears (16-11) won for the seventh time in eight games.
They'll get a third shot at North Suburban Lake rival and No. 4 Stevenson (19-7), which won both meetings 52-32 and 52-45, in today's 7:30 p.m. semifinal.
And Kunz hitting 9-of-14 shots and getting 8 rebounds of the Bears' 29-24 advantage was a big impetus.
"I felt I had to come a little more ready to play," Kunz said of going up against 6-9 Josh Rustman and 6-6 Monroe Brooks of Palatine (10-16).
"The key to the game was the way he came out early on and set the tempo," said Lake Zurich coach John Zarr. "It opened up our offense a little more and put pressure on them to defend him.
"All year long he's matched up with kids bigger than him and he does a great job."
Mooney hit three 3s and Brandon Baum (8 points), Chas Evans (7 points) and Andy Garlisch (9 rebounds) were solid for the Bears with Austin Cox and Danny Coleman limited by the flu.
Matt Rossi (15 points) helped slow Kunz in the second half and John Castellano had 15 points, 7 rebounds and three 3s for Palatine. Brooks was slowed by illness and Rustman and point guard Gerald Hutton were coming off ankle injuries.
But the Pirates shot just 31 percent (17-for-55) to 57 percent by the Bears (24-for-42).
"We were out-hustled and out-scrapped," Molitor said. "Especially inside."
Which led to a 45-26 deficit after three as Molitor saw his career end with 505 wins at Palatine and Marist.
"I never really thought about it," Molitor said as the game wound down, "but I will now, for sure. We had great leadership from our captains (Castellano and Hutton). I couldn't be prouder of these guys."
Meadows 67, Round Lake 40: Four Rolling Meadows senior starters would love to see sophomore Richie Kemph continue his progress a little longer this season.
Kemph scored 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and hit a pair of 3s as No. 12 Meadows (13-14) cruised 67-40 past No. 21 Round Lake on Monday night at the Class 4A Palatine boys basketball regional quarterfinal.
Kemph's shooting was a nice complement to seniors Kyle Gaedele (18 points) and Ty Kirk (13 points) as the Mustangs shot 50 percent (26-for-52). They'll try to avenge 2 losses to Mid-Suburban East rival and No. 5 Buffalo Grove (18-8) in Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. semifinal.
"This was pretty much a warmup for BG," Kemph said as the Mustangs raced to leads of 22-5, 31-9 and 61-27.
Kemph has also warmed up to playing on the varsity the last few weeks. He scored 10 points last Tuesday at Barrington and had 19 in a loss to Lake Zurich.
"It's a lot different playing now than it was then," Kemph said of the start of the season.
"The last couple of weeks he's really stepped up and gained a lot of confidence," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "We've got a very boisterous senior group with strong personalities and it can be intimidating for a sophomore.
"Once he realized the guys were getting on him because he could be good he really gained some confidence."
Round Lake (7-21) lost senior leading scorer Vernon Randolph (23.5 ppg) to academic ineligibility Monday morning.
The Panthers hit just 2 of their first 17 shots and committed 10 of their 22 turnovers in the first half. Mike Mpokota and Javier Martinez had 10 points apiece.
"It seemed my kids weren't quite ready for the enthusiasm Meadows brought," said Round Lake coach Jeremy Fisher. "Unfortunately we couldn't quite match that."