Knar pours in 25 more to key Mundelein again
After Mundelein's Robert Knar scored 27 points against Libertyville on Friday night, what could he possibly do for an encore?
He followed with a 25-point night with four 3-pointers to lead the Mustangs past host Zion-Benton 75-66 in overtime in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division basketball game Saturday night
"The bigger the game, the better he plays," coach Dick Knar, whose Mustangs (18-2, 5-1) won their 12 game in a row, said of his son. "He is a guy who loves big games."
The Mustangs were leading 61-50 midway through the fourth quarter, but the Zee-Bees rallied with an 12-0 run to take a 62-61 lead with 1:15 left.
The teams exchanged baskets until the crowd erupted when Richard Knar, who had just been put back in the game, sank a 3-pointer to give Mundelein a 66-64 lead with 4.2 seconds left.
But Zion-Benton's Milik Yarbrough took the inbounds pass at halfcourt and tied the score with a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer.
Robert Knar started the overtime period with jump shot and followed that with a foul shot to give the Mustangs a 3-point lead.
"I think once I sank that first shot (in OT), it killed their momentum, said Robert Knar, who scored 5 points in overtime. "Our coach told us to stay focused and don't give any fouls. He had been trying to get me to work on my offense and it's paid off the last two games."
Mundelein's Ryan Sawvell led all scorers with 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
"That might be the most exciting game I was ever in," Sawvell said. "Dickie (Knar) put in a huge shot for us. During overtime, we were just trying to play good defense and hold them to one shot. W were just able to put the ball in the bucket to win."
Richard Knar finished with 8 points. His dad took him out with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. When he returned a minute later, he sank his big 3.
"He just wanted to give me a little break," Richard Knar said. "When he put me back in, I took a pass and was elated when the ball went in."
Dondre Osborne led the Zee-Bees with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. Yarbrough finished with 17 points and Owen Worthington had 14.
Mundelein led 34-31 at halftime and built a 53-45 lead by then end of the third quarter.