Zion-Benton stops Stevenson, stays in hunt
Zion-Benton coach Don Kloth said he remarked to someone at the beginning of the boys basketball season that he wouldn't be surprised if all seven teams in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division finished 6-6.
He was joking.
Partly, anyway.
"I don't think you can even guess how this is going to turn out," Kloth said.
This much is certain: Zion-Benton stayed in the thick of the NSC Lake race Friday night by avenging an early-season loss.
Ohio State-bound Lenzelle Smith scored 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 4 assists to lead the Zee-Bees to a 57-43 win over visiting Stevenson, which saw its four-game winning streak snapped.
Zion-Benton (14-8, 5-2), which also got a strong effort from 6-foot-7 senior Cordaryus Craigen (13 points, 9 rebounds), moved into sole possession of second place. The Zee-Bees remained a game back of Lake Forest, which was a 60-51 winner over Mundelein.
"We know that the two losses (to Stevenson and Mundelein) hurt us, but we know that we're going to keep on fighting and keep going until the end," Zee-Bees senior Eric Pasiewicz said. "No matter what happens."
Stevenson (12-6, 5-3) shot just 6 of 23 in the first half in spotting the home team a 27-16 lead. Smith's layup off a steal and assist by Anthony Cofield had the Zee-Bees up 10-8 after one quarter.
"We didn't shoot very well, and they caused us to do a little bit of that," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said. "We got behind the eight ball and certainly couldn't keep them off the boards."
Pasiewicz, who's not a long-range shooter, gave Zion-Benton a boost by beating the halftime buzzer with a long 3-pointer.
"He'll be shooting it tomorrow in practice," Kloth said with a grin. "You know how kids are."
Smith, who had 12 points and 7 rebounds at the half, picked up his third foul early in the third quarter. But Stevenson couldn't take advantage, even though Kloth kept Smith on the floor.
Smith was guarding Nate Johnson, who finished with 8 points (9 under his average) and 7 rebounds.
"We did (attack Smith) a little bit," Ambrose said. "But we weren't in a very good attack mode and he dropped off us a little bit. And then we weren't shooting very well. We had some open shots that we didn't stick."
Smith's turnaround 12-footer on the wing gave Zion-Benton its largest lead at 35-20 midway through the third. The advantage swelled to as many as 19 points in the fourth.
Ambrose said his Patriots saw a different Zee-Bees team than the one that lost 68-56 at Stevenson in early December.
"They were much more energetic, much more focused," Ambrose said. "We weren't."
"They beat us the first time so we just wanted to come out harder," said Pasiewicz, who finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds. "We don't lose twice to people - and it's our home floor, too - so we had to beat them."
Kloth was happy with a defensive effort that included Pasiewicz's defense on shooter Mark Swanson (6 points). Only Kevin Earl (10 points) scored in double figures for the Patriots.
"They're hard to guard," Kloth said. "They have really good perimeters."