Geraghty drives Schaumburg to OT win

Declan Geraghty was ready to make one of his Schaumburg teammates the hero Tuesday night.

But as Geraghty got the ball out of a timeout with 8.9 seconds left in overtime, the senior guard saw an opening for himself in the Mid-Suburban League boys basketball crossover at Elk Grove.

Geraghty drove the lane and banked in a layup as he was fouled with 1.2 seconds left. His free throw completed the 3-point play and the Saxons (8-6) snapped a four-game losing streak 50-47.

"We ran that play a couple of other times in the game and I forced it a little bit," said Geraghty, who had 8 points and 7 rebounds. "I was ready to make a different decision if I had to do it. If a guy popped out I was ready to pass the ball but luckily the lane opened up."

Elk Grove (4-10) was trying to hold for the final shot when Joe Infusino's diving steal off the floor set up the last part of the Saxons' comeback from a 5-point deficit the final 1:44.

"There was no doubt where I was going," said Schaumburg coach Matt Walsh. "The plan was to get the ball in Declan's hands and let him create. The other four players executed the play well."

Schaumburg saw leads of 10-1 and 36-27 wiped out - the latter on 9 straight points by Elk Grove senior guard Brian Battaglia (18 points on 7-for-13 shooting).

A pull-up jumper by Elk Grove senior guard Keven Zelaya (11 points) tied it at 40-40 with 2:50 left in regulation. It stayed that way until Battaglia hit a 3 off a kick out by Scott Siwicki (14 rebounds) with 2:48 left in overtime.

John Lorenz's feed to Sean Gordon (8 points) for a layup at 1:44 put the Grens in position for their fourth straight win with a 47-42 lead.

"The difference in the game was the end of the first half and the end of overtime," said Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman of 7- and 8-point Schaumburg runs. "Their (defensive) pressure paid off (in 23 turnovers). The bottom line is if we could have handled their pressure the whole game I thought we could have come out ahead."

Kurt Kempema's offensive rebound set up Josh Walker's spinning lane drive at 1:22. Elk Grove's first turnover in 61/2 minutes set up a tying 3 by Glenn Frost (10 points) off Walker's fourth assist with 38 seconds left.

Then Geraghty finished off Schaumburg's first overtime win in three tries as it rebounded from two tough losses at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. All Elk Grove could manage with no timeouts left was Battaglia's three-quarter court heave which was short.

"I thought our kids showed a lot of toughness and character," Walsh said.

"This is a big confidence booster that we can win close games," Geraghty said. "We never thought we were out of it throughout the whole game."