Friday's Cook County roundup
Schaumburg's boys basketball team found itself in a precarious position just after halftime Friday night to the state-ranked hosts of the Rockford Boylan Thanksgiving Tournament.
But the Saxons rallied from a 17-point deficit to force overtime on Josh Walker's coast-to-coast buzzer-beating layup before falling 92-88 to Boylan in Rockford.
"I was really disappointed with how we started the game but I was more proud of how we finished the game," said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. "I'm really proud of our guys with how they stuck together and handled adversity. They really believed and trusted each other."
Junior Johnny Kirk scored a career-high 31 points and hit five of 12 3-pointers by the Saxons (1-1). Walker also finished with a career-best 20 points and Declan Geraghty and Glenn Frost added 8 points apiece.
"We tightened up defensively and controlled the glass better in the second half," Walsh said. "Defensively we were able to get some stops and finish off defensive possessions with rebounds. In the first half they really hurt us on the glass."
Schaumburg was down a point with the ball out of a timeout with 12 seconds to go in regulation but was called for traveling with five seconds left. Boylan, ranked ninth in Class 4A by the Associated Press, hit 1 of 2 free throws but after a timeout, Walker went the length of the floor in four seconds to tie it at 81-81.
Jason Painter (28 points), Chris Miller (24 points) and Nick Bauch (17 points) led Boylan, which never trailed in overtime. Schaumburg has to come right back with games today at 10:30 a.m. (Rockford Auburn) and 3:30 p.m. (Rockford Jefferson).
"I think we learned a lot about ourselves and believe we're capable of playing with anybody," Walsh said, "but we realize we're far from playing to our potential."
Prospect 82, CICS-Longwood 24: Sophomore Mike LaTulip is making a quick adjustment to varsity basketball. LaTulip followed up a 15-point debut with 16 points and three 3s as Prospect (2-0) rolled in the St. Patrick tourney in Chicago.
"We knew he was going to be good but this is a very pleasant surprise," said Prospect coach John Camardella. "He's shooting it extremely well. More than anything, his poise on the court has been the best thing."
Joe LaTulip had 11, Nsenzi Salasini added 10 and Jack Redding had 8 as the Knights led 48-19 at halftime and outscored Longwood 23-1 in the third. They'll face St. Patrick (2-0) for the title at 7:30 p.m. today.
"It will be a good test for us," Camardella said.
Barrington 73, Rockford East 61: Bryan Wegner scored a team-high 16 points to lead five players in double figures as Bryan Tucker got his first victory as head coach at Barrington (1-1) in the Rockford Boylan tournament.
Riley O'Daniel scored 14 points, James Stack hit three 3s and scored 11 and Ben Bartz and Greg Gerrard added 10 apiece for the Broncos. They led 39-21 at halftime and 56-38 after three.
Wheeling 72, Sullivan 36: Juniors Billy Jaimie and Tyler Shapiro each scored a career-high 13 points as Wheeling (2-1) rolled in Maine West's Warrior Classic. Riley Harvey added 11 points and Ryan McClellan scored 8 as the Wildcats led 33-18 at halftime.
Chicago ASA 49, Palatine 43: Palatine (1-2) was able to draw even in the third quarter but fell short in its inaugural Ed Molitor Classic to Chicago ASA (2-2). Michael Orris scored 15 points and Mykyta Cheshko had 13 for the Pirates.
Maine South 57, Maine West 40: Alex Samuelson scored 21 points and Odera Eneogwe added 13 for Maine West (2-1) in the loss in its inaugural Warrior Classic. Matt Palucki led Maine South (3-0) with 21 points.
Lake Park 51, Meadows 36: Paul Volkman scored 11 points and Brian Nelms added 8 points for Rolling Meadows (2-2) as Lake Park pulled away in the second half of the fifth-place game of Fenton's Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament.
All-tournament team selection Richie Kemph was held to 4 points after averaging 29.7 in the first three games.