Libertyville laces up a 'W' against LZ

It could have been the shoes.

But Ellis Matthews will never know.

That's because Libertyville's hot-shooting senior guard will likely never again wear his funky black and bright green Nikes with orange shoelaces.

Never mind the fact that he shot so well in them Saturday night against Lake Zurich.

Matthews, who isn't into superstition or into sporting the same look twice, scored all 12 of his points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in the first half in carrying the host Wildcats to a 16-point halftime lead. That ultimately led to a breezy 53-39 North Suburban Conference Lake Division victory over Lake Zurich in which three Libertyville players scored in double-figures.

"It's just like if I do well on a test, it's not like I'm going to use the same pencil again on the next test. I'm not superstitious like that," Matthews said. "It wasn't the pencil, just like it's not the shoes. That's why I don't feel like I have to wear them (the black and bright green Nikes) again."

Matthews also doesn't want to wear them again.

He's got a closet jammed with shoes that are just waiting to get their shot on the big stage.

"I've got at least 30 pairs of (basketball) shoes, and they're all broken in because I use them all," Matthews said. "I'm really into shoes. Some people like cars, I like shoes. I really do love them and I've got a bunch of different kinds. It's like a collection. You'll never see me in the same pair twice. I'll wear a different pair of shoes for every game this season."

It's worked well so far.

With Matthews keeping his footwear on a strict one-and-done rotation, the Wildcats are a perfect 7-0 on the season, and 2-0 in the Lake Division.

Libertyville, which also got a game-high 14 points out of forward Jack Deichl, 10 points out of guard Anthony Mack and 8 points out of point guard Griffin Pils, is off to its best start in head coach Scott Bogumil's eight-year tenure.

"Our whole team likes each other, and we all get a long," Pils said. "And we've been working really hard in practice, harder than we have in the last few years.

"When we started winning a bunch of games in a row, it was like we started playing even better. We all got a lot more confidence."

The Wildcats looked pretty confident from the start against Lake Zurich (2-5, 0-3 Lake).

They carried a 16-8 lead into the second quarter and then took firm control of the game by opening with a 12-2 run that included 2 huge 3-pointers by Matthews. By halftime, Libertyville was up 30-14.

Lake Zurich opened the third quarter with a mini 5-0 run to cut Libertyville's lead to 11 points at 30-19. But the Bears were never able to get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

"We weren't aggressive enough offensively in the first half," Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said. "And then we dug a hole because they were shooting the lights out and hitting tough shots."

Meanwhile, the Libertyville defense was offering up nothing but tough, contested shots to Lake Zurich star forward Mirko Grcic.

Grcic, who entered the game averaging 22 points per game, was held to 8 points and went scoreless in the first half.

"We came out flat and weren't making our shots and weren't playing fundamental defense," Grcic said. "Once we got down, it was tough to get back in the game. We were fighting and fighting and it was just tough."

Lake Zurich was led in scoring by forward Jeff O'Brien, who had 9 points. Forward Doug Murphy added 6 points for the Bears.