Levitt, Stevenson prevail against Buffalo Grove

Jeff Levitt didn't know if his sore left hand would be well enough to allow him to play Saturday night against the hosts in what would turn out to be the championship game of Buffalo Grove's Bison Classic boys basketball tournament.

But the Stevenson point guard got some treatment in the morning and some heavy bandaging just before the game. It paid off. His steady hand, leadership, tough defense and clutch free throw shooting helped the Patriots finish the round-robin tournament 4-0 with a 64-58 win.

"I knew, in my head, I was going to be ready," Levitt said after the game.

No way he was missing the BG game. He also knew he'd get some help, perhaps from unexpected places.

Junior center Kevin Earl had all 11 of his points in the second half on perfect shooting from the floor and sophomore guard Michael Fleming came off the bench to add 10 points and his own brand of defense, toughness and flair.

"Everybody stepped up," said Levitt. "We've got to keep that up."

Mostly, it happened in the second half. After a 24-24 tie at the break, Stevenson closed the third quarter with a 6-1 burst thanks to a Fleming fastbreak bucket and a Levitt jumper. The Pats kept it going into the fourth quarter on Brad Tivin's free throws and two more Earl buckets inside.

Regular pressure on the foul-troubled Bison (3-1) and continuing aggressive play from Ryan Chapman off the bench to complement Earl, Fleming and Levitt kept the Pats ahead, despite some steady 3-point bombing from BG's John Angotti (12 points), Nick Prus (13) and Jeff Zabrin (12).

"They've got some good shooters," said Patriots coach Pat Ambrose, "but we went to the free throw line and knocked down some free throws. We were aggressive down the stretch."

Tournament MVP Nate Johnson had 15 points to lead Stevenson, including 6 of 10 at the line in the fourth quarter. He also helped the Pats to a major rebounding advantage and helped force the Bison into mostly a perimeter game by controlling things around the basket.

"He's a tremendous athlete. They played tremendous defense," BG coach Ryan O'Connor said of Johnson and the Patriots. O'Connor was just as proud of junior guard Zabrin and junior forward Kevin Tennenbaum, both of whom came off the bench for the foul-plagued Bison and helped keep it close.