Road oh so good for Grayslake N.
Grayslake North's boys basketball team had something working in its favor when it sought to avenge a loss to Crystal Lake Central while also trying to notch a milestone win.
The Knights were playing on the road.
It's a fact: The Knights are better in black - their black road uniforms, that is.
"Coming into other gyms, there tends to be more people - bigger crowd, louder environment," guard Grant Henricksen said. "I guess it gets us pumped up."
Guess so, because for the ninth time this season, Grayslake North won away from home. The visiting Knights held off Crystal Lake Central 52-44 in the both teams' Fox Valley Conference Fox Division finale Friday night.
For Grayslake North (10-16, 2-8), it was the first time in its three years as a varsity program that it reached 10 victories.
"That was our goal - double-digit wins," said Henricksen, who scored 9 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and also grabbed 7 rebounds. "It was nice to get it."
When Crystal Lake Central (5-21, 2-8) traveled to Grayslake North on Feb. 6, the Tigers rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 47-41. That happened to be the Knights' last home games.
"We just wanted to get payback," said point guard Matt Pucher, who scored 12 points. He also grabbed a team-best 8 rebounds, despite standing just 5 feet 9. "We ran a lot of their type of defense at practice."
The Knights led 6-2 after one quarter but both teams picked up their offense after that. With Brandon Schroth, who recently returned from an ankle injury, draining a trio of 3-pointers, and Henricksen and Pucher also making 3s, the visitors were up 26-16 at halftime.
The Tigers pulled within 34-31 late in the third quarter, but Patrick Grim's buzzer-beating putback had the Knights up 36-31 entering the fourth. Like the last time these teams played each other, Grayslake North went up nine in the fourth. This time, the Knights maintained their composure.
Guard Connor Buxton scored half of Crystal Lake Central's points, leading all scorers with 22, and was the Tigers' only starter who scored. Mike Fior added 12 points and 6 rebounds.
Schroth had 12 points for Grayslake North on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
Knights coach Todd Grunloh has no explanation why his team plays better on the road.
"We've played some decent games at home," he said. "It's just one of those things."
Grayslake North's only home win was against Lakes, which will play the Knights on Wednesday night at Grayslake Central in the teams' Class 3A regional opener.
Grunloh said he hopes to find out Monday if three-year varsity starter Rollin Idlas might be able to play. Idlas has been sidelined the last four weeks with mono.
"If he does (play)," Grunloh said, "it's going to be only a couple of minutes at a time."
Grayslake Central 51, Prairie Ridge 45: The host Rams rallied from a 37-28 deficit after three quarters to knock off the Fox Valley Fox Division champs.
Grayslake Central (18-9, 7-3) outscored Prairie Ridge (17-9, 8-2) by a 23-8 margin in the final quarter. Kevin O'Rourke scored 13 points for the Rams, while Mike Brumm and Alex Anderson added 12 apiece. Josh Rappaport chipped in 9.