Young blood: Lakes able to handle Antioch
An errant hand or elbow cut John Androus just enough to cause some blood to splash on his white jersey late in the first quarter.
The wound was barely noticeable and hardly affected the Lakes senior guard.
More conspicuous for the Eagles? The continual emergence of recent call-ups Donte Arnold and Tanner Blain.
They're proving to be a cut above.
Both sophomores had huge games, as did Androus, as Lakes jumped on visiting Antioch early and never relented in a 79-65 win Friday night. The North Suburban Prairie Division game between District 117 rivals was played in front of two loud student sections.
The win was the second straight for Lakes (2-8, 2-1) after the Eagles opened the season with eight straight losses. In their third game since being promoted from the sophomore team, Arnold and Blain had 19 and 15 points, respectively.
"They play with moxie," Lakes coach Brian Phelan said.
Added Androus: "They really apply a lot of pressure on defense and give us extra ballhandlers on the court."
Arnold and Blain also give their star teammate more room to create havoc. The 6-foot-5 Androus did just that against Antioch (2-6, 0-3), piling up 21 points, 15 rebounds and 5 steals.
"He plays so well off the ball," Phelan said of his three-year varsity starter. "So it's nice having three or four ballhandlers out there to free him up."
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Androus and Arnold put Lakes up 9-1, and then the Eagles attacked inside. Junior Parker Blain, Tanner's big brother, scored on a runner late in the opening quarter to cap an 8-3 run and put the Eagles up 19-11 heading into the second.
Leading 21-16, Lakes put together another run, this time 10-0, and the rout was on. Tanner Blain helped pour it on by finishing twice on aggressive drives to the basket.
Arnold, who sat a majority of the first half with 2 fouls, took over in the third quarter, sinking three shots and scoring 8 points.
"Donte brings a lot of quickness," Androus said. "He can pick up the ball full court, and he really helps us on defense. He's the best on-the-ball defender on our team and one of the best to come through this program.
"And Tanner's a nice ballhandler and a good shooter from the outside."
Kyle Melton led Antioch in scoring with 22 points, sinking four 3-pointers and using a burst off the dribble to penetrate the lane. He was often guarded by Arnold.
"Donte's fast, and I thought Melton did a real nice job of breaking him down," Phelan said. "I thought Donte had a lot of trouble with him."
Chris Terzic added 13 points and 12 rebounds for Antioch, and impressive sophomore Karl Nettgen had 10 points. But the Sequoits trailed 36-21 at halftime and 59-39 after three.
"We got a lot of work to do," Sequoits coach Michael Skinner said. "We're not where we should be. We're losing to teams that come out and are ready to play. Our guys, I don't know."
For Lakes, which counts three losses by five or fewer points, one thing is certain: Especially with their new additions, the Eagles are a much better team.
"Putting pressure on the ball full court has really helped us out," Phelan said. "That's the one difference. Prior to (the call-ups), we didn't have enough personnel to pick up full court."