Buffalo Grove beats Lakes
Buffalo Grove had too many weapons for Lakes in Friday's third round of the Bison Classic boys basketball tournament.
The hosts put three players in double figures and held a 30-18 rebounding edge, which resulted in a 70-40 BG victory.
BG (3-0) will face Stevenson (3-0) tonight at 7:30 for the tournament title, while the Eagles (0-3) play Elgin (1-2) at 6 p.m.
BG scored in spurts, many points coming off turnovers. The Bison ran out to a 10-2 lead and finished the first quarter scoring 9 unanswered points to lead 19-6. Mike Cornely (game-high 19 points) and James Hurley (15) each scored 7 points in the opening quarter and Matt Newman added 4.
"Our defense is a big part of our game," said point guard Kevin Mulligan, who finished with 11 points.
Cornely and Andrew Cohler each scored 6 points in the third quarter for the Bison, who stretched a 35-19 halftime lead to 53-33 after three quarters.
"He has a very high ceiling," BG coach Ryan O'Connor said of Cornely. "He is able to do some things that others cannot."
The 14-point third quarter was Lakes' most productive. Playing without center Marcell KirkmanBey (7 points), who sprained his left ankle in the second quarter, the Eagles got balanced scoring, with Mike Scott (team-high 15), John Androus (8) and Justin Hotle (6) each scoring 4 points.
The closest Lakes could get in the second half was 17 points, the last time at 57-40 on Androus' basket with 5:30 left. BG's defense didn't allow another point while going on a 13-0 run to finish the game.
"We had a job and got it done," O'Connor said. "We worked hard for the tournament and thought we could contend for the championship.
"We put ourselves in that position. That's as far as we've gotten."
Despite the loss, coach Brian Phelan found reason for optimism.
"Against Holy Trinity, we didn't show a lot of passion," Phelan said. "Tonight, we played hard, and I saw good growth. We're looking for daily improvement.
"We knew it would take patience," Phelan said. "We're still thinking and not reacting."