Hopfinger, Lake Forest outlast Stevenson in overtime

Lake Forest senior Mitch Hopfinger gazed at the scoreboard as he and his Scouts teammates walked to the bench at the end of regulation in the North Suburban Lake Division contest against visiting Stevenson.

Each team was able to muster only 33 points as the game headed into overtime.

"It was kind of an ugly game," said Hopfinger, who moments earlier had forced overtime with his first 3-pointer of the night. "I don't think either team played the way they wanted to tonight."

Fortunately for Hopfinger, Lake Forest had a little more than the visiting Patriots in the extra session. Hopfinger started the extra frame with a 3-pointer and finished with a game-best 15 points as Lake Forest hung on to beat Stevenson 40-37.

"That was just a very physical game between two teams that know each other very well," said Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala. "I thought defensively we haven't played better in a game at this point of the season in a while."

Even with all defensive effort, Lake Forest (5-2, 2-0) still found itself in a hole in the fourth quarter. Thanks to the outside shooting of Stevenson senior Mark Swanson, the Patriots built a 33-28 advantage with 1:09 to play in regulation.

"Defensively we try and hold the other team to under 40 points each time out, and we did that through almost five quarters tonight," said Swanson, who chipped in with 11 points. "Lake Forest is a great team and they came back hard and put it in our face."

The Scouts cut the margin to 33-30 on a pair of Tommy Rees free throws before Hopfinger hit his long 3-pointer from the right wing with 17 seconds left in regulation to tie it.

"It was just a great pass from Tommy," Hopfigner said. "It felt pretty good when it left my hand."

Hopfinger did it to the Patriots again to start overtime, draining another clutch 3-pointer which ultimately gave the Scouts the lead for good at 36-33 less than a minute into the extra session.

Stevenson (5-2, 1-2) had a final chance to win the game in regulation and in overtime, but each time the Patriots were unable to convert their chances. Swanson's final off-balance attempt in overtime hit the front of the rim and bounced out of bounds.

"That was a pretty good shot by a good player," said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose. "Give him credit for making a big shot. We just had too many mental lapses tonight - that's all."

Nate Johnson led the Patriots with 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Johnson also added 6 assists and 7 steals. The Scouts' Josh Bruns chipped in 10 points and 9 boards.