Spencer, Lake Park sink Schaumburg
Lake Park's Domo Spencer is a player that wears many hats on the basketball court.
"He does a lot for us," said Lancers coach Josh Virostko. "He can score, pass, rebound and is assigned to the other team's best player."
Spencer, a 6-foot-4 senior, did all of that and more as Lake Park held off a furious Schaumburg rally to beat the host Saxons 46-41 in a nonconference game Tuesday night.
Lake Park (4-1) built a 9-0 lead from the start, and Schaumburg (3-2) had to play catch-up for the entire game.
Spencer scored 5 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter and blocked 2 of his 3 shots. The Saxons cut the lead to 13-11 to end the quarter.
Lake Park then scored the first 9 points of the second quarter to lead 22-11 but did not score again after the 4:05 mark after Spencer converted a 3-point play.
Christian Spandiary (11 points, 7 rebounds) scored for the Saxons with 3:37 left in the first half to break the drought. Schaumburg cut the lead to 22-16 as the half ended.
A basket by the Saxons' Michael Mallett closed the gap to 24-21 with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter. Spencer scored the first and last baskets of a 15-2 Lancers run to end the quarter with Lake Park ahead 39-23.
Spencer picked up his fourth personal foul and went to the bench with 7:35 left in the game. That seemed to ignite the Saxons.
Spandiary scored 5 points and Kyle Bolger hit for 4 free throws. A basket by Mallett then cut the lead to 39-34 with 3:30 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Schaumburg's Jimmy Lundquist (10 points, 6 rebounds) cut the Lake Park lead to 2 at 43-41 with :13.7 left.
Spencer was fouled on the inbounds play and made 2 free throws with 12.7 left.
Spandiary's 3-point try missed with Spencer (7 rebounds) grabbing the carom. He then hit 1 of two 2 throws with two seconds left.
"They put pressure on us in the fourth quarter," said Spencer," but we fought back and held on. We have to keep playing like a team, like we did tonight, and keep our intensity up. I felt I could have played better."
"This year Spencer knows that winning matters," said Virostko. "The first two years he liked to score. Now, he has grown into that team concept and that goes a long way. He trusts his teammates."
Zach Wagner added 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds for Lake Park, which shot 16-for-30 from the field but went 0-for-5 from the floor in the final quarter.
The Saxons shot 7-for-25 through three quarters and finished 13-for-39.
"We didn't shoot the ball well," said Saxons coach Matt Walsh. "But Lake Park's defense caused a lot of that. Give them credit they executed their game plan. We didn't fold or give up; we just kept fighting back. We ran out of time. Lake Park was the better team tonight."
Christian Liberty 51, Elgin Academy 40: Luke Comerouski scored 14 points to lead Christian Liberty (2-3), which led 9-0 after a quarter and 40-18 after three. Mike Hennek and Marcus Silva added 9 points each for the Chargers.