Encore effort by Mundelein

Mundelein's boys basketball team played the role of comeback kids again.

For the second straight game, the Mustangs rallied to win a North Suburban Lake Division thriller.

Down 43-34 entering the fourth quarter at Lake Forest on Tuesday night, Mundelein won 57-56.

Ryan Sawvell grabbed a rebound and scored at the buzzer.

Mundelein had come from 10 points down to defeat Lake Zurich last Friday night.

Lake Forest was up 56-52 when it was called for a 10-second violation.

On the ensuing possession, Mundelein's Robert Knar took a pass and sank a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left.

Knar then stole the inbound pass and Mundelein coach Dick Knar called a timeout with 22 seconds left.

“The play was supposed to be a screen left to Sean O'Brien,” said Sawvell, who led all scorers with 27 points and also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds. “But it didn't go that way and one of my teammates missed a shot. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Robert Knar finished with 23 points, including

five 3-pointers.

“It was designed to be a screen play,” Robert Knar said. “When we couldn't get the ball to Ryan in the corner, we passed the ball back up top for a shot and we kept trying to shoot until it finally fell.”

Dick Knar said it was the biggest comeback of his coaching career.

“I have to give my guys a lot of credit for not quitting,” said Knar, whose Mustangs improved to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the NSC Lake. “I designed a play at the end that just looked horrible. I told the guys at the end that they willed themselves to win. What they did was make the coach look good by putting the ball in the basket.”

John Hayes led Lake Forest with 15 points, while Thomas Durrett chipped in 12.

“We just didn't handle the pressure at the end,” Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala said. “Mundelein did a great job of taking us out of our comfort zone. I give them a lot of credit in that they were down by 16 and they never gave up.”