Grayslake North pulls out 46-42 victory over Richmond-Burton
Slow starts seem to be a pattern for Grayslake North's boys basketball team.
The Knights recovered from an 11-point first-quarter deficit to pull out a 46-42 victory over Richmond-Burton in the Grant Holiday Tournament on Saturday.
Grayslake North (6-5) finished in fifth place with a 2-2 mark.
Grant Henricksen led the Knights with 12 points and Michael Verwijst added 9 and 5 rebounds.
"When we had success early in the year we were jumping on teams early," Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh said. "Ever since then, we've been a real slow-starting team. We're trying to pick up the intensity off the bat. It's something we need to improve on. We were fortunate to recover early enough in this one."
Grayslake North was down 15-4 until Rollin Idlas hit a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the opening quarter.
The Knights turned up their defense in the second quarter, while Zach Estes made a pair of free throws to cap a 12-4 run, tying the game at 19-19 with two minutes left.
"We went on a scoring drought in the second quarter," Richmond-Burton coach Chris Nolen said. "We quit attacking and their pressure gave us a lot of problems. We had way too many turnovers and in a game like that you can't turn over the basketball. Our kids didn't respond and got way too passive."
Richmond-Burton (5-7, 1-3) led 24-19 at the half.
"We tried to trap a little bit more and trap locations," Grunloh said. "We just fine-tuned it a little bit more. At the same time, it made (Richmond-Burton) a little more hesitant on offense."
In the third quarter, the Knights' pressure defense caused more turnovers and poor shot selection from the Rockets.
Henricksen scored 11 points during a 16-2 stretch and Grayslake North led 35-26 going into the final quarter.
"I just wanted to be aggressive and get things going," Henricksen said. "We have 3 or 4 players who can lead the team putting up double digits every night and not just me."
Verwijst scored 7 points in the final quarter to help keep R-B from getting no closer than four points.
Round Lake 68, Northtown Academy 60: Round Lake's boys basketball team finally got its first win and the first for coach Howard Kravets.
Jeff Nicoline played a big part, setting a tournament record with seven 3-pointers and scoring a career-high 23 points to lead the Panthers past Northtown Academy 68-60 on the final day of the Grant tournament.
"This is the beginning of a lot of excitement with wins in our program," said Kravets, whose Panthers (1-10) finished 1-3 at Grant. "I knew that November and December would be tough for us with a lot of young kids new to the system.
"You have to learn how to win. We found a way to win. It's a nice feeling."
The Panthers had lost to Richmond-Burton 61-57 in double overtime on Friday night. Nicoline sent the game into overtime by hitting a 3-pointer with five seconds left. His 12 points marked his first double-digit performance of the season.
"I had confidence from (Friday) when coach called the play for me that tied the game," Nicoline said. "I just carried it over to this game. I got into the flow and kept going."
Jon Martinez and Lennox Davis added 12 points apiece for the Panthers and Jake Paulsen chipped in 10.