Energized Buffalo Grove shoots past Wheeling
Mired in a 5-game losing streak, Buffalo Grove knew something had to change Friday night.
The Bison turned to a rarely-used ally, the zone defense, but even more so it was their high energy level that helped them explode for an 82-40 Mid-Suburban East victory over visiting Wheeling.
“That may have had a factor,” said BG coach Ryan O'Connor of the zone defense. “I tell the kids that it's not what you do, but rather how you do it. With the effort that we played with tonight, we could have done a lot of things.”
BG (3-6, 1-2) overwhelmed Wheeling (0-9, 0-3) from the start, jumping out to a 22-4 lead after the first quarter.
For the first time this season, the Bison came out in a 1-2-2 zone defense, led up top by Rich Zirngibl. And if the Wildcats did get to the basket, 6-foot-7 Sam Wacker (12 points, 5 blocks) was waiting to protect the rim.
“Our defense enabled us to get that cushion right away,” Zirngibl said. “And then we had room to do what we do best.”
And what BG did best was hit 3-pointers. The Bison hit 7 of their 10 long-range attempts during a first half in which they led by as many as 35 points.
Luke Potnick (18 points) knocked down 2 of them in the early going before Alex Fritz and Zirngibl followed suit later in the quarter.
“The bench went nuts on our first basket even though it was just a layup,” Zirngibl said. “We planned that, though, because we wanted to get some good energy going. That enabled a lot of guys to take shots that maybe they don't take but we were able to because our confidence was so high.”
By the time Zirngibl found Potnick for BG's final 3 of the half with a minute left, the Bison led 43-8.
It was a struggle offensively for the Wildcats, who made just 5 of their 20 shots and committed 14 turnovers before intermission.
“We definitely played at a high level,” O'Connor said. “We hit some shots that we haven't hit all year. But I was most impressed with our defense.
“(Wheeling) has some shooters that are capable of putting the ball in the hole. We really respected their shooters and tried to get out on them the best that we could.”
Zirngibl finished with 18 while sophomore Colin Inlow scored 11 fourth-quarter points.
Juniors Nick Ricciardi and Scottie Bertrand led Wheeling with 9 points apiece.
“All around, it was a whupping,” said Wheeling coach John Clancy. “They came out with some toughness, and we didn't answer. We just folded. For a conference game against your cross-town rival, to not come out and give any kind of effort is inexcusable.”