Third quarter tells the tale for Buffalo Grove
The third quarter provided the difference in host Buffalo Grove's 65-54 Mid-Suburban League East Division boys basketball win over Wheeling on Saturday.
And senior guard Kevin Mulligan and senior forward Mike Cornley provided the difference in the third quarter for the Bison.
BG held the halftime lead by a single point, but was able to outscore the Wildcats 22-14 in the third quarter to build a 9-point lead. Mulligan and Cornley combined for 14 of those points.
"I tried to calm down a little bit," Mulligan, who finished with 11 points and 6 assists, said. "And I stepped up and hit some shots. I was missing my open shots before. I was hoping they would fall in the second half, and they did."
Buffalo Grove (11-6, 4-1) scored several easy fastbreak layups in the third quarter, many coming from Cornley (12 points, 10 rebounds).
"We told ourselves we weren't playing defense intensely enough," Cornley said. "We started getting up on our guys and getting out in the passing lanes. We got a few steals and got a few buckets off them."
The turnovers loomed large in the mind of Wheeling (3-13, 0-5) coach Lou Wool.
"Their physical strength overpowered us in the third quarter," Wool said. "We had some turnovers in the third quarter and they took advantage of it. Their athleticism hurt us."
The third quarter saw Buffalo Grove regain some of the offensive balance it normally has with 6 players scoring in the period. Only 4 BG players scored in the first half, which was dominated by Nick Prus.
"Nick gave us a great lift with his outside shooting, no doubt about it," said BG coach Ryan O'Connor.
Prus scored 14 of his game-high 23 points in the first half and sank five 3-pointers in the game.
After building a 9-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Cornley said the Bison focused on defensive intensity and heady plays offensively to seal the victory.
"When we got on offense we swung the ball around a few times not just to look for a good shot, but to look for a great shot," Cornley said.
Junior forward Riley Harvey led Wheeling with 12 points. Guard Kyle Batiz had 8 points and 5 rebounds, while guard Ricky Schwind chipped in 8 points.