Buffalo Grove gets job done at Hersey
Buffalo Grove boys basketball coach Ryan O’Connor wasn’t sending any messages when he juggled his starting lineup against Mid-Suburban East rival Hersey on Friday at Ken Carter Gym — but it seemed to do the trick.
O’Connor was looking for more rebounding after a 70-57 home-court loss in early December, so he inserted Brian Akialis into the lineup for Dan Recht. All Recht did after entering the game midway through the first quarter was score a game- and career-high 20 points, including a putback with 0.6 seconds on the clock, giving the visiting Bison a 58-56 victory.
“It wasn’t meant to be a message, but we needed the rebounding,” O’Connor said. “In the first game, they killed us on the boards.”
Recht, who left the game briefly early in the fourth quarter when he was hit in the eye in a scramble under the basket, rebounded Nick Prus’ miss and put it in while being fouled by Tom Sutrinaitis, his fifth. Recht missed intentionally, and Hersey’s desperation full-court heave was off the mark.
“On that last play, it was tough to see, but I put it up and it went in,” Recht said. “I’m not the biggest scorer, but I’m a garbage guy who gets 10 points a game. I take pride in it.”
Despite the loss, the Huskies remain tied with Prospect — which lost to Rolling Meadows in overtime — atop the division with 6-2 division records. Buffalo Grove and Rolling Meadows share third place at 5-3.
“Two things stood out,” said Hersey coach Steve Messer. “First, they outrebounded us, and secondly, we had bad shot selection.
“We had the lead and the ball and made some bad choices. That’s a lack of leadership and discipline.”
Recht kept the Bison (14-8 overall) from facing a big deficit by scoring 11 of BG’s 12 points in the second quarter, which ended with Hersey holding a 31-28 lead.
BG led 43-40 after three quarters and stretched it to 47-40 on consecutive baskets by Sam Wacker (10 points, 4 blocked shots).
A 9-0 run by Hersey (12-8 overall) gave the Huskies the lead with 4:03 remaining. A 3-point play by Justin Jobski (17 points) and a 3-point basket by Sean Reszotko (17 points) — followed by 2 free throws by Connor Miklasz and 1 from Sutrinaitis — turned the tables.
A basket by Wacker with 1:36 remaining gave the Bison a 54-53 lead. Jeff Zabrin dropped in 2 free throws to make it 56-53, but Jobski tied it on a 3-point play with 30.8 seconds left in the game.
“We knew they were going to try to pound it inside on us,” Wacker said of his matchup with Hersey’s Sutrinaitis. “We tried to get him out of there (on fouls), but he played a smart game. We couldn’t get him out.”