Mundelein’s win good as Wiegold

Fifteen feet away from the basket for Jordan Wiegold is the same as standing right under it for most players.

It was the perfect spot for the Mundelein senior guard to be in the final seconds of his team’s boys Thanksgiving basketball tournament Friday night. Barrington was trying to force overtime and someone other than scoring leader Robert Knar into taking the decisive shot.

Knar drove to the baseline out of a timeout with 14.8 seconds left and kicked the ball out to Wiegold on the left wing. Wiegold’s jumper was on the mark with one second left and he was mobbed by teammates and fans after Mundelein (3-0) won 61-59.

“Jordan Wiegold from 15 feet is almost automatic,” said Mundelein coach Dick Knar of one of only two seniors on his team. “It couldn’t have been more perfect timing.”

Wiegold (10 points) also won a game at North Chicago in similar fashion last year. He’s proof the midrange shooting game is still alive.

“I didn’t think it was going to be coming down to me,” Wiegold said. “It’s my favorite shot. My coaches call it a layup.

“My whole life I’ve never been a big 3-point shooter but I love the 15-foot jumpshot. It was a great feeling.”

And Barrington (2-1) didn’t feel badly about how it handled junior Robert Knar (22 points on 8-for-16 shooting, 9 rebounds, 3 assists) in the final seconds.

“Mundelein’s a talented team with a lot of weapons on the floor and our kids battled,” said Barrington coach Bryan Tucker, who unsuccessfully lobbied for a timeout after Wiegold’s shot. “I thought we did a nice job of defending that last play.

“He (Knar) found the open man, we were a little slow getting out to him and the senior knocked down a big shot for them.”

Barrington also showed plenty of determination with 6-foot-7 Western Illinois signee John Schneider sidelined with a broken left hand. Schneider was hurt in the preseason and Tucker said he could miss six to eight weeks.

Mark Bennett scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and tied it at 59-59 on his layup with 20 seconds left after Mundelein’s Sean O’Brien (9 points, 5 blocked shots) stopped a drive by junior Brad Zaumseil (18 points, 3 assists).

Jackson Wegner, a 6-1 senior, had 12 points and 9 rebounds and Ryan Carroll came off the bench to score 8 points and hit two 3s.

“I think we have some kids who are very unselfish moving the basketball,” Tucker said. “We’re undersized every game and that hasn’t been an issue and they’re playing tough defense.”

Junior Cliff Dunigan and sophomore Nate Williams added 8 and 7 points respectively for Mundelein, which could never open a lead bigger than 6 points.

“They did what we wanted to do offensively,” Dick Knar said. “They ran their offense well and Zaumseil is a heck of a player.”