It’s coming into focus for Wauconda
Scott Luetschwager’s eyes scanned his Wauconda boys basketball team’s stat sheet following its North Suburban Prairie Division home game against Round Lake.
What he saw was the big picture.
“A lot better than past years,” Wauconda’s coach said. “I’m pleased.”
The Bulldogs were thrilled after rallying in the fourth quarter to pull out a 48-41 win Friday night. Their fans, including female schoolmates who cheered whenever a player exited the locker room, were equally ecstatic.
Wauconda, which won only eight games last season and six the season before that, improved to 4-4 and 1-2 in the NSC Prairie.
“We’ve been playing with the same group of kids and we’re starting to come together,” said 6-foot-7 senior Matt Mead, who along with senior guard Kyle Ryan has been a regular on varsity since sophomore year. Connor Rueb, another senior starter, also saw some varsity action as a sophomore.
“We just want to get as many wins as we possibly can,” Mead added, “because it’s a very important year for all of us.”
Ryan came in averaging nearly 21 points per game but had only 7 points through three quarters. He finished with a team-high 14 points. Mead (7 rebounds) and Rueb added 11 each.
Ryan was defended by Panthers senior Matt Houghton.
“He was shutting me down,” Ryan said. “He played great defense. That was the best defender I’ve faced all year.”
“Matt played a great game — offensively, as well, knowing his role,” Round Lake coach Jim Roberts said of Houghton, who also hit a 3-pointer. “Anything he makes offensively is a bonus. He just busted his butt. We had breakdowns in other areas.”
Round Lake trailed 19-18 at halftime but dominated the third quarter, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Juddon Carter (his only points of the night), while Anthony Gutierrez came off the bench to hit a 3 and score 7 of his team-high 10 points.
The Panthers, who went ahead by nine on a Carter 3 with 3:14 left in the third, committed only 1 turnover in the quarter and took a 36-30 lead into the fourth.
“They came out (after halftime) ready to play,” Luetschwager said. “We were still trying to get our feet under us. They attacked us and hit some shots.”
When Danny Uriostegui hit a jumper early in the fourth, Round Lake led 38-30. But Rueb’s 2 free throws started Wauconda’s comeback. Ryan then stepped up his offense, while the Panthers went stagnant on offense.
“We just knew we had to shut them down on defense,” Mead said.
“Fourth quarter, we clamped it down,” Luetschwager said. “We changed up our defense a little (switching to a man-to-man and then back to a matchup zone).”
Ryan came off a double ball screen to sink a long 3 from the top of the key with 4:38 left, cutting the Bulldogs’ deficit to 38-37.
“That’s the thing,” Luetschwager said of Ryan, who sank two 3s. “You give him a foot, and he’s going to bury that shot. If he goes ice cold, I’ll still take that shot any day of the week.”
Rueb’s runner in the lane, off a dish from Keith Blomberg, gave Wauconda the lead for good at 42-41 with 2:12 left. Birthday-boy Austin Swenson (8 points) then knocked down a 3, and the Bulldogs ended the game with a 9-0 run.
“We started wearing them down late in the game,” said Ryan, whose steal (his fourth) and layup with 22 seconds to go sealed it. “I capitalized on a couple of shots, everyone was hitting, and it just went our way.”
Uriostegui scored all 5 of Round Lake’s points in the fourth. The Panthers shot 2 of 10 in the quarter and turned the ball over five times.
Uriostegui and Mark Jennings (10 rebounds) each had 8 points for Round Lake.
“We went up 38-30, things got frantic, and we’re supposed to be an experienced team that handles it,” Roberts said. “We didn’t. We had untimely turnovers, took a couple of a poor shots in crucial situations, and then we had a couple of defensive breakdowns.”