Daniels, Vernon Hills stun Grayslake Central
This time, it counted.
Two weeks ago in a nonconference showdown against visiting Grayslake Central, DaVaris Daniels hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer that was waved off because he stepped out of bounds.
Vernon Hills lost that game by 2 points.
On Wednesday in a Class 3A regional semifinal at North Chicago, with the clock winding down yet again, Daniels got another chance at a buzzer-beater.
And this time, the Vernon Hills junior forward delivered.
Down by 1 point, Vernon Hills had 7.9 seconds to advance the ball the length of the court and then get a shot off. Daniels was well within bounds when he fired up a running, off-balance 12-footer.
It hit nothing but net as time expired, giving third-seeded Vernon Hills a magical 61-60 victory over No. 2 Grayslake Central.
"It's the same feeling I had last time except everyone ended up being disappointed because the ref called me out of bounds," said Daniels, who poured in a game-high 28 points. "This time, it was nice. It was an unbelievable game, and we get to celebrate this one."
The Cougars, who started celebrating instantly by swarming Daniels in jubilation, end their five-game losing streak and improve to 17-10.
More importantly, they will now face top-seeded North Chicago, the team they finished second to in the North Suburban Prairie Division, in Friday's regional championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at North Chicago.
Grayslake Central, meanwhile, closes out its season at 21-7. The loss snaps a 15-game winning streak for the Rams, who hadn't lost since Dec. 31.
"It was just kind of a sadness and a disbelief (in the locker room after the game)," Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe said. "When you win 15 in a row, you never really believe you're going to lose again."
Meanwhile, the Cougars say they never stopped believing - in themselves, or in Daniels' ability to hit another buzzer beater. Even when Grayslake Central gained a significant upper hand.
Sophomore guard Jordan Taylor knocked down the biggest free throws of his life when he turned a 1-point deficit into a 60-59 Grayslake Central advantage with 7.9 seconds left. After forcing a Vernon Hills turnover, Grayslake Central lost control of the ball under its own basket and Taylor somehow came up with the loose ball and got fouled.
"That was a lot of pressure but I just had to buckle down and make them," said Taylor, who scored 16 points and was 8-for-10 from the line. "After I hit those (free throws) I thought everything was looking good. But then (Daniels) hit a big shot and everything crumbled after that."
After back-to-back timeouts following Taylor's free throws, Vernon Hills was ready to run the new play it put in this week, just for this kind of situation.
"We put the play in two days ago because we knew, after having played them last time, that (Grayslake Central) knew our end-of-the-game plays," Vernon Hills coach Matt McCarty. "It worked perfectly. Grayslake Central couldn't have played any better defense. They had like three guys draped over DaVaris. He just hit a really tough shot."
Daniels' teammate Chris Morgan also hit a really tough shot just seconds before.
Grayslake Central took a 57-56 lead on a Taylor layup with 1:08 left but then Vernon Hills ran an inbounds play to perfection when Daniels kicked a pass out from the lane to a wide-open Morgan on the perimeter.
Morgan knocked down a 3-point shot that gave Vernon Hills a 59-57 lead with 39.1 seconds left.
"I was wide open and DaVaris got me the ball. There wasn't much to do but get it in the hole," said Morgan, who was the only other double-figure scorer for Vernon Hills with 18 points. "It's just so nice to come out on top this time. We know that when time is running out, we've got to get DaVaris the ball. He always creates for us. I don't know how he does it. He's amazing."
And all Josh Rappaport could do was watch.
The Grayslake Central center scored a team-high 20 points but was on the bench with four fouls, subbing in only for offense, when Daniels became the hero.
"It was especially hard for me to watch because I couldn't do anything about it," Rappaport said. "But it is what it is. I just honestly don't feel like our season is over. It hasn't hit me yet. It's just unreal that I'll never wear a Grayslake uniform ever again."