This time, Libertyville takes command
The Wildcats weren't stung this time. Far from it.
Libertyville cruised to a 14-point win over Zion-Benton on Tuesday. It was a meaningful game not only in that the Wildcats stayed undefeated (6-0), but that they also changed their fortune against the perennially tough Zee-Bees.
In recent years, Libertyville and Zion-Benton had played some wild games that had been decided in the final minutes, or even seconds.
Most times, the games didn't end in Libertyville's favor.
"We've played Zion-Benton well over the years, but for whatever reason, it just didn't happen for us in a lot of those games," Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil said. "My first year, we had Matt Hogan and he hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to put us up by one but then they hit a 30-footer at the buzzer.
"A couple years ago at their place, we had a 4-point lead in overtime, but they got like six points in the final five seconds on a couple of steals to win the game. We've had some tough games with them."
Two years ago, the Wildcats finally broke the cycle of close losses to Zion-Benton when Josh Trees hit a shot with 2 seconds left that won the game.
Early birds: Saturday's Libertyville home game against Lake Zurich has been bumped to a 5:30 p.m. start time, up from the standard 7:30 p.m. start for varsity games.
Over the last couple of years, Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil has experimented with earlier start times on Saturdays and has liked the results so much that he has asked to have all of his Saturday home games played early.
"It's for a couple of reasons," Bogumil said. "First of all, your guys are sitting around all day for those later games. It's never easy to play when you're doing that.
"Also, we never seemed to get as many fans to Saturday games as to Friday or even Tuesday games. I think it was because a lot of people like to go out on Saturdays and do other things like go out to eat or watch a movie. With an earlier start time, they can come to our game and still go out afterward. It's not too late to do that."
Familiar face: Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher knows his way around the Libertyville gym, which is where he'll spend Saturday night since Libertyville will be hosting Lake Zurich in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division tilt.
Before taking the job at Lake Zurich last year, he was an assistant coach for six years at Libertyville. His stint also included coaching the freshman team.
All of Libertyville's juniors and seniors were coached by Pitcher when they were freshmen.
"All of our guys are so funny-they're all like, 'I can't wait to play Pitcher, I can't wait to play Pitcher,'" Bogumil laughed. "I'm like, 'No, we're playing Lake Zurich.'"
Another big win: Like Libertyville, Grayslake Central got a big win this week, too.
On Tuesday, the Rams knocked off Vernon Hills, a team that always provides them with some of their stiffest competition in the Class 3A tournament.
"One of us has knocked the other out of the playoffs the last three years," Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe said. "And we've had some great games, with buzzer beaters and everything. No matter what happens, it's always a close game.
"It's good for us to play them during the regular season, too, because you always want to see (how you stack up) against teams you could face in the sectional. It's still early, but the game does mean something and could mean something for seeding, too."
Quote of the week, 2: "I am a big Chicago Bulls fan, but I'll be an even bigger one this year. I'm hoping that the Bulls win the championship and the whole staff is so marketable that Rick Brunson gets a job somewhere else and he moves his family with him. I'll be pulling for the Bulls hard, and I'm not kidding."
Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil, whose team will have to face Stevenson and freshman sensation guard Jalen Brunson, the son of Bulls assistant coach Rick Brunson. Bogumil was suggesting that the younger Brunson wouldn't be able to terrorize the NSC if his father got a job elsewhere and had to move his wife and kids with him.