Lake Forest survives Mundelein despite 43 from Brust
Ben Brust scored when needed, like when he poured in 20 points in the second quarter and 18 more in the pivotal fourth.
But on a night the Mundelein senior guard netted 43 points, it was his willingness to give up the basketball with Tuesday's North Suburban Lake Division game against visiting Lake Forest on the line that was also significant.
It didn't pay to be nice for Brust, however.
Mundelein freshman Robert Knar missed a 3-pointer at the fourth-quarter buzzer, after a feed from Brust, and Lake Forest dominated overtime to pull out an 84-77 victory.
Mitch Hopfinger scored 5 of his team-high 32 points in OT to lift Lake Forest (4-2, 1-0). Tommy Rees (11 points) also scored 5 points in the extra session for the Scouts.
"I thought we really attacked in overtime," said coach Phil LaScala, whose Scouts outscored the Mustangs 16-9 in OT. "We didn't play passively."
The Scouts didn't all night, in truth. They used a 10-0 run to erase a 5-0 deficit, built a pair of 8-point advantages in the second quarter and, despite trailing 35-32 at halftime, took a 58-51 lead with 5:08 left in the fourth when Hopfinger fed Rees for a 3.
"They play hard all the time - all the time," Mundelein coach Dick Knar said. "We don't. They outplayed us."
Brust, who scored 40 points in regulation, kept Mundelein (5-2, 1-1) in the game on a night the Mustangs struggled to find another player to score consistently.
Ryan Sawvell scored 11 of his 15 points in the third quarter and was the Mustangs' only other double-digit scorer. Leavon Head (two 3s) scored 5 of his 9 points in the opening quarter.
Brust finished with six 3-pointers, half coming in the fourth. His three-point play with 16.9 seconds left tied the score at 68-68. Hopfinger then drove and was called for traveling.
After a timeout, Mundelein inbounded the ball with 6.2 seconds on the clock. Nick Delaquila triggered under the Mustangs' own basket to Brust, who raced up the court and fed Robert Knar for an open 3 from the right corner.
Knar, who recently had a 28-point game, hadn't made a shot since the first quarter, despite several attempts. His game-winning try hit iron but missed. The Scouts' Josh Bruns (15 points, 6 rebounds) grabbed the rebound as regular time expired.
"We thought (Brust) was going to take the shot," said Hopfinger, who also had 10 rebounds and 3 steals. "They did a good job of getting another guy open, and he was open for the shot. We were lucky (Knar) missed it."
Dick Knar insisted he wanted the ball in Brust's hands at the end.
"The play was for Ben," Mundelein's coach said. "We ran a high screen for him, but Lake Forest came out early and Ben gave it to Robert. Robert had a terrible shooting night, but he was open and he's a good shooter."
Besides his 43 points, which included a 3-pointer in overtime, Brust also had 5 assists, 4 steals, 4 rebounds and a blocked shot.
"He's a heck of a player," LaScala said. "He got it going where he was doing some different things. The one thing about him is, he's unselfish. He'll make the pass to the guy going to the basket. We had to respect that."