Grayslake C. 58, Cary-Grove 55

Grayslake Central must have felt like a boxer who went 12 rounds.

The Rams took every punch Cary-Grove threw at them, got off the canvas and eventually won the bout.

Cary-Grove's last gasp came on a desperation 3-pointer by Pete Pelizzari that didn't fall and Grayslake Central came out with a 58-55 win in a Fox Valley Conference crossover game in Cary Friday night.

"Cary-Grove came out and played with great intensity," said Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe. "We have a lot of kids who have played on the varsity for 2, 3 and 4 years. These kids know how to win.

The Trojans (5-2), making their first 3 shots of the game, grabbed a quick 7-2 lead after a layup by Brandon Coleman with 6:14 left in the first quarter.

"We have to push the ball and use our quickness to get easy shots," said Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schueltze. We came out with awesome effort and attacked the basket. We can't grind it out with teams."

Cary-Grove's biggest lead was 10, 25-15, after Chad McCarron made 1-of-2 from the line with 5:42 left before the half.

But the Rams (6-2) responded with a 10-0 run. Three-pointers from Mike Brumm and Alex Anderson were keys during the run. Brumm's 3 tied the game at 25 with 2:52 left in the half.

Josh Rappaport's 15-footer gave the Rams a 28-26 lead at halftime.

There were 8 lead changes in the second half before the Rams took the lead for good, 49-46, on a 3 by Anderson with 2:04 left.

The Rams held a 56-51 lead on a layup by Brumm with 13 seconds left. But the Trojans refused to quit. Matt Nelsen canned a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left and was fouled on the play. Nelsen completed the 4-point play with a free throw to cut the lead to 56-55.

Cameron Nelsen's 2 free throws gave the Rams a 58-55 lead with 4 ticks left.

Brumm led Grayslake Central with 16 points. Rappaport added 15 points while Anderson scored 10.

Cary-Grove, which was hurt by 47 percent free throw shooting (11-of-23), was led by Nelsen with 20 points.