Extra special win for Lake Forest
Friday night's contest between Lake Forest and Warren lived up to the hype that surrounded the big battle for first place in the North Suburban Lake Division - and then some.
When the Scouts and Blue Devils met a month ago, it took more than the regulation 32 minutes to decide the outcome and it only seemed right on Friday night in Gurnee that the two teams needed an extra session again.
Before a standing-room only crowd of better than 3,000 in an environment befitting a sectional title game, Lake Forest snapped the Blue Devils' 13-game winning streak on 2 Matt Vogrich free throws with :06 left in overtime 66-64. The loss also marked the first loss in overtime this year for Warren in four games.
"This was definitely the biggest win for us to this point, this year," said senior Lake Forest senior Jonathan Sobinsky. "We wanted to get them back at there place after they beat us the same way at ours."
Lake Forest (14-3, 7-1) looked like it had locked up the contest with 15.7 seconds left in regulation after 2 free throws by Scouts senior Matt Vogrich. The Michigan-bound Vogrich lead all scorers with 35 points.
Warren got the ball back, and as the final seconds ticked down, Illinois-bound senior Brandon Paul drained his fifth 3-pointer of the night with Sobinsky right in his face to tie the score at 60-60 and force the extra session.
"Brandon can beat you in so many different ways out there," Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala said. "He is that good to where he can go out and do whatever he wants to do."
Paul did his damage in regulation with 27 points to lead Warren (15-2, 6-1), but didn't have a chance to help the Devils in overtime. Paul picked up his fifth foul with 2:22 to play in the extra session.
"We knew when (Brandon) fouled out that we all had to pick it up," said Warren senior James Poliquin. "I think we did a good job as a team picking up our intensity when he went out."
When Paul went to the bench, Vogrich held up five fingers to signal the departure of the Devils' star.
"When (Brandon) picked up his fifth I held up five fingers and I think we all got pretty excited," said the Michigan-bound Vogrich.
Even with Paul gone, Warren still never trailed by more than a bucket in the overtime. The Devils caught the Scouts on a bucket by Poliquin with 22.8 seconds to play 64-64. But Warren couldn't convert the 3-point play, giving Lake Forest one last chance.
"All the kids in this game tonight played their tails off," Warren coach Chuck Ramsey said. "The game really could have gone either way."
Poliquin pumped in 18 points for the Devils. David Duncan chipped in with a dozen, all of which came in the second half. Mitch Hopfinger contributed 13 points for Lake Forest.