Grayslake North comes up short in OT

Just about everything that Grayslake North junior Matt Pucher put up in the second half went in the basket. And just about every pass that the 5-foot-10 Pucher dished out led to a second-half bucket for the Knights.

So when Pucher stole the ball as time ticked away in overtime of the Knights' nonconference contest with visiting Woodstock, just about everyone in the building thought the last-second shot he took was going in.

"I think we all thought it was going in," Grayslake coach Todd Grunloh said. "It looked like (Matt) had a real good look at the basket."

The ball sailed through the air but was only able to draw the front of the iron as the contest ended in a 70-68 overtime win for Woodstock over the Knights.

"I felt like we got a second chance when we got it into the overtime," Grunloh said. "We just didn't get off to a good start in overtime or to start the game."

Woodstock (3-11) took full advantage at the start of the game building up leads of 17-6 in the first quarter and 26-17 just before half. Senior Nate Burns was part of the Blue Streaks' hot start as he scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the first quarter.

"Mostly my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball early," Burns said. "It was because of them that I was able to get good shots."

Grayslake (6-8) battled back throughout most of the fourth quarter trailing by as many as 10 points twice in the third quarter. But one final hard push in the fourth quarter helped force overtime.

After Woodstock built a 57-54 lead with :07.4 seconds left, Senior Brandon Schroth buried a 3-pointer from the right corner with two Blue Streaks players draped on him to tie the game and force overtime.

Schroth and Pucher were the driving forces that brought the Knights back in the fourth quarter. Pucher scored 10 of his team-best 17 points in the fourth quarter and subsequent overtime. Schroth scored 9 of his 15 points in the final 12 minutes, including the tying 3-pointer.

"I was playing horrible in the first half and coach (Grunloh) came up to me and asked if I was ready to play in the second half," Pucher said. "I knew I had to pick it up and play better."

Pucher added 9 assists to go with his 17 points. Rollin Idles also hit double figures for the Knights with 10 points. Sophomore Mike Sutter hit a big 3-pointer in overtime for Woodstock and finished with 17 and Colin Strange had 10 for Woodstock.