Glenbrook North shuts down Lake Park

After losing a fourth-quarter lead Wednesday night against Niles West, Lake Park's boys basketball team orchestrated a late comeback to advance to Friday's Class 4A regional final at Addison Trail.

Top-seeded Glenbrook North made sure the Lancers didn't have a chance to repeat the feat.

Lake Park, whose slow-it-down style kept it within 5 points at halftime, lost control of the game's tempo across the final two quarters, eventually dropping a 52-38 decision to Glenbrook North in Addison.

Defense kept the Lancers' upset hopes alive for the first 16 minutes, holding the Spartans to just 21 points and keeping Notre Dame-bound forward Alex Dragicevich in check. However, Lake Park converted just 6 field-goal attempts, a stat which coach Josh Virostko attributed to a lack of experience.

"We just played awful tight," Virostko said. "It's the first regional championship that we've been in for a while."

Lake Park's (13-15) offense continued to stall in the third quarter. Sophomore Dominque Spencer's 3-pointer with 2:12 remaining in the period marked the Lancers' first points of the second half, a drought which allowed Glenbrook North to build a 32-16 advantage.

"We had our opportunities, but we just couldn't finish them," Virostko said. "When you don't do that, it snowballs real quick."

"It didn't seem like our 28th game," guard Kyle Phelan said. "I think we just kind of got caught up in the moment and got a little tense."

Glenbrook North (23-5) led 38-22 after three quarters. Dragicevich and center Peter Szostak both hit double digits in points, with Szostak scoring a game-high 16 to go along with 6 rebounds.

The Spartans' sizeable front line converted several easy looks in the paint once Lake Park began stretching its defense.

"Defensively, we had some lapses," senior Matt Drufke said. "A lot of backdoors we gave up tonight, where they were setting some back screens and we didn't help on that.'

With shots not falling throughout much of the third quarter, Lake Park could no longer maintain a slow tempo, destroying one of its pregame goals.

"We definitely wanted to slow it down," Drufke said. "We wanted to look to attack in different opportunities, not an up-and-down game."

"We wanted to try to stay within the 30- to 40-(point) range," Virostko said.

Virostko likes the way his team shapes up for next season, despite losing key seniors in Drufke and Phelan.

"It was fun," a smiling Drufke said. "I love the game. I'll miss it."