Rose, Meadows step up for victory

With Rolling Meadows missing starting guard Brian Nelms on Friday night at Elk Grove because of illness, 6-foot-3 forward Mike Rose had no question what the Mustangs had to do.

“Our point guard was out,” said Rose, “so everybody else had to step up.”

Rose took his own words to heart, making the defensive play of the game with seconds remaining by “stepping” in front of a Grens player intent on driving to the basket and taking a hard-earned charge to preserve the Mustangs’ 49-45 Mid-Suburban League East Division win.

Elk Grove (5-19, 1-8) trailed 47-45 and was looking for the last shot for the tie or the win, but Rose’s effort stymied the Grens.

“You’ve got to get a shot off in that situation, with only five seconds left,” said Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman. “You can’t turn the ball over.”

It was the Grens who took charge early, leading by as many as 9 points through most of the first half.

But the Mustangs (12-10, 6-3) turned that completely around after halftime in their sixth straight East win. They rallied and tied things up when Tyler Gaedele canned a 3, then went up by 6 on the strength of the inside game of 6-6 center Paul Volkman (game-high 16 points).

But the Grens wouldn’t quit, and after a jumper by guard Austin Amann brought Elk Grove within 46-45 late, Eric Lowe hit 1 of 2 free throws for Meadows, setting the stage for Rose’s heroics.

Gaedele (13 points) sank 2 late free throws to seal the win.

“We gave up 19 points in the third quarter, and that told the story,” said Furman, whose Grens were led by 9 points from Amann and 6 apiece from Devin Neill, Peter Kinsella, John Lorenz and Anthony Jiminez.

“When you don’t handle the ball well that escalates into poor defense and poor offense,” Furman said. “But I thought we showed a lot of guts by fighting back in the fourth quarter.”