Grayslake Central holds court

And so the un-rivalry rivalry continues.

Last week, with geographic rivals Lakes and Grayslake Central looming on the schedule, Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh pointed out that his team needed to live up to its end of the bargain.

Students from Grayslake North grow up with and attend grade school and junior high with kids from both Lakes and Grayslake Central, which is why they see games against those schools as rivalry games. But considering that the boys basketball team at Grayslake North had never beaten either Lakes or Central in a combined seven attempts, Grunloh said that neither series was a true rivalry.

"It's not a rivalry until we win one," Grunloh said.

Grayslake North did just that last Friday with a victory over Lakes. Could the Knights go 2-for-2 and put some real meaning into their rivalry against Grayslake Central as well?

Not quite.

Actually, not by a long shot.

On Tuesday, in a jammed gym at North, Grayslake Central emphatically showed the Knights who's still boss with a 66-40 Fox Valley Conference Fox Division victory that turned into a borderline rout as early as the five-minute mark of the second quarter.

The win moves Grayslake Central to 15-6 overall and 4-0 in the Fox Division. Grayslake North, which was without two starters because of illness and injury, drops to 7-12 and 0-4 in the Fox.

"I'd say it's still a rivalry," said Grayslake Central guard Mike Brumm, who scored a game-high 14 points despite relaxing on the bench in the fourth quarter as the Rams' reserves closed out the game. "We grew up with some of these guys, so it's always fun to play them. Usually it's a close game. And even if it's not, it always seems like it is."

In reality, the game went from close to not in a hurry.

The Knights tied Grayslake Central at 10 points apiece midway through the first quarter on a Michael Verwijst jumper. But Grayslake Central took control from there, ending the quarter with an 8-1 run and then reeling off a 9-2 run to start the second quarter.

By halftime, the Rams were sitting on a comfy 18-point lead (40-22).

"We just fell apart after the first quarter," said Grayslake North guard Matt Pucher, who scored 12 points, one shy of guard Grant Henricksen's team-high 13 points. Henricksen hit a 75-foot buzzer-beater at the end of the third quarter to record the longest basket in school history.

"Once they pulled out to a big lead, it was like we kind of gave up and I have no idea why," Pucher said. "No one could really stop Brumm. It was like there was nothing we could do.

"It's hard because after beating Lakes, we knew we had a chance to beat another rival."

The Knights were a bit handicapped, playing without starters Brandon Schroth and Rollin Idlas. On Monday at practice, Schroth broke his ankle and earlier in the day Idlas found out that he has mono.

"That changes the complexion of our team," Grunloh said.

Grayslake Central got 10 players in the scorer's book, including two others besides Brumm in double figures. Kevin O'Rourke and Josh Rappaport each had 10 points for the Rams.

"It was good to get everyone in, especially in a rivalry game like this," Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe said. "All the guys were looking forward to playing against their buddies from junior high."