Grayslake Central 58, Fenton 42
It won't be Friday's season-ending loss that the underclassmen on Fenton's boys basketball team should take away from this season -- not the first-half deficit to Grayslake Central that proved too large to overcome, nor the Class 3A regional title that got away.
Not if departing senior Gozie Umeadi can help it.
"I told the younger guys to remember this season, because there's nothing as pure as high school basketball," Umeadi said. "Take this feeling and come out next year and get a regional championship."
Grayslake Central (21-6) won 58-42 over Fenton (13-15) in Bensenville, ending the high school playing days of key players like Umeadi, Damian Sieradzki, Billy Gratzl, Darek Potuszynski and Corey Tangen.
"I'll miss our (seniors). I've had a great time coaching them," said Fenton coach Dennis Cromer. "They're great kids, and it's just too bad we weren't a little more competitive in the first half."
The second-seeded Rams built a 29-16 halftime lead on seventh-seeded Fenton, getting into the lane on the dribble, pounding the offensive glass and defending well through two quarters.
"We seemed to be a step slow and a little timid," Cromer said. "They took the game to us in the first half, and we got after them a little bit at halftime, but they got after themselves. They were disappointed in how they played."
The Bison fought back like they have all year when faced with a deficit, using a 19-10 scoring edge in the third quarter to cut their deficit to 39-35. But the Rams' composure carried the day in the final quarter.
"Their fundamentals and the way they run their offense -- they just didn't break down," Sieradzki said. "They were making 13, 14 passes on offense and then getting scores."
Sieradzki hit a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter and Umeadi attacked the basket hard in bringing the Bison back from a 17-point deficit in the third.
"Gozie always plays like a man possessed in those moments, and Damian got on a roll," Cromer said. "It was the combination of those two, and we finally hit some shots."
Sieradzki went into Friday's game averaging 19.4 points per game, Umeadi averaged 15.3 and Gratzl averaged 10.5 to lead Fenton. Umeadi and Sieradzki will be on a college roster somewhere next year, and Umeadi was quick to thank his coach after four years on varsity.
"Coach (Cromer) is awesome. He's given me the most support out of anyone who's ever coached me," Umeadi said. "He believed in me more than anyone else.
"He's a great guy, a great coach, and I'm going to miss him."