Grayslake North takes another step forward
Securing the first .500 season in its young history was no reason for Grayslake North's boys basketball team to celebrate.
Heck, the Knights are still 2 wins shy of earning the right to cut down a net.
"We talked before the season and thought 15 (wins) was a pretty realistic goal," coach Todd Grunloh said after his Knights improved to 14-13 by topping Wauconda 62-47 in the teams' Class 3A regional play-in at North Chicago on Monday night.
Matt Pucher's game-high 27 points (three 3-pointers) led Grayslake North, which won for the sixth time in its last eight games.
"We didn't get 15 (during the regular season), but the next goal in the line was a regional championship," said Grunloh, whose team has increased its win total in each of its four varsity seasons. "So you don't get one, but you still got a chance to go out and get the other one."
A 15th win would be stunning, considering Grayslake North, seeded fourth out of five teams at North Chicago, would have to upset top-seeded North Chicago tonight. But the Knights aren't just glad to be here.
They'll face a North Chicago team that cruised through the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division with a 12-0 record and boasts a 17-7 overall mark, but will play tonight without star sophomore guard Aaron Simpson, who has two broken bones in his left (non-shooting) hand.
"It's not going to be easy (to win), but, hey, why not?" Grunloh said. "Even without Simpson, they're still going push the ball and give us some matchup issues. But I think we have the guards that can handle the pressure that they're going to send at us. Maybe we can get some easy shots right out of that, as well, (and) use their aggressiveness against them."
What do the Knights have to do to give themselves a chance against the speedy Warhawks?
"I think just play smart, really," said guard Teddy Ludwick, who had 7 points and 4 steals against Wauconda. "They're going to pressure us a lot. We like to push the tempo, and they like to push the tempo. It's going to be a real fast game."
With North Chicago players sitting in the stands, not far from their bench, the Knights gave a glimpse in the first quarter against No. 5 Wauconda (6-22) of how quickly they can fill up the basket.
Grayslake North led 23-12 after one quarter, hitting 9 of 16 shots, including 3-pointers by Pucher, Ludwick and Miles Siemsen (8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals).
"I just thought we got a little sloppy with the ball (after the first quarter)," said Grunloh, who saw Wauconda get within 25-18, before Pucher started and ended a 10-0 run with 3s. "In the first quarter we pretty much made everything, so sometimes when we come out hot in the first quarter, everything looks like a good shot and we stop moving the ball around a little bit. And (Wauconda) picked up the pressure a little bit."
Tyler Gick led Wauconda with 19 points. The junior averaged around 15 points per game after 18-point-scorer Eric Hartnett tore his ACL in early January.
The Bulldogs ended their season with nine straight losses.
"I coached most of these kids as freshmen, so to see them again as seniors and juniors, it was still kind of special," first-year coach Scott Luetschwager said. "But for me, (this season) was a learning experience. Every game was different."