Stevenson steps up again

It’s long been said that winning in sports involves being both good and lucky.

About a week ago, after a close and somewhat unexpected win over defending Class 4A state runner-up Warren, the Stevenson boys basketball team might have been called “more lucky than good” by some onlookers.

Determined to reverse that presumption, the Patriots made a good case on Friday night.

For the second time in 10 days, Stevenson earned a victory over one of the top teams in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division.

The Patriots out-lasted visiting Libertyville 69-62 in overtime, dealing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.

Stevenson improves to 7-1 and 3-0 in the Lake while Libertyville drops to 7-1 and 2-1 in the Lake.

“People thought the Warren win might have been a lucky win for us, and that Warren didn’t play their game. But that’s not what we’re thinking. We think we’re as good as any team in our conference,” said Stevenson senior guard Michael Fleming, who scored a team-high 22 points, including 6 points on 3-of-4 free throws in overtime.

“That Warren game was huge because of all the newspaper (stories) and rankings for Warren. But the fact that we also beat an undefeated team (Libertyville) a week later proves to us and to everyone else that we’re a really good team and that we can finish first in our conference. That’s a big goal for us. We need to keep beating good teams like this in our conference to reach our ultimate goal of finishing first in the conference.”

Like any conference champion-caliber team would, the Patriots showed they could operate well under various conditions.

They played well with a big lead early, building a comfy 17-3 advantage in the first quarter. Then they kept their heads as Libertyville battled back to cut its halftime deficit to just 2 points (23-21).

Later, the Wildcats came back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and eventually forced overtime on a dramatic, last-second 3-pointer by Anthony Mack.

Still, Stevenson didn’t crumble.

The Patriots scored the first five points in overtime on a 3-pointer by Fleming and 2 free throws by freshman point guard Jalen Brunson to take control for good.

“Before overtime, I felt good about us (regaining the momentum),” Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said. “They grabbed the momentum from us right before halftime but we (withstood that) and had a good third quarter. I knew we could do that again in overtime. They grabbed the momentum (at the end of regulation with Mack’s 3-pointer), but I knew we could get it back again and we did.

“We solved their zone, we got a lead, they were chasing and we were able to knock down some free throws at the end.”

The Patriots connected on 13-of-16 free throws in overtime.

And they needed every last one of them while clinging to a 3-point lead with about a minute to play. Libertyville point guard Griffin Pils, who scored a game-high 26 points including 10 in overtime, hit a 3-pointer with 57.2 seconds remaining to cut Stevenson’s lead to 60-57.

But from there, the Wildcats had a hard time knocking down shots and had to foul.

“It was really big for us to fight back like that. We haven’t always done that in the past. Sometimes we’ve given up,” Pils said. “This year, we’re showing a lot of determination and we’re fighting to stay in games.

“They just made a couple plays early in overtime and then we were having to play catch-up and foul.”

The Wildcats, who also got 21 points on 4 three-pointers from Ellis Matthews, gave a valiant effort considering how many of them were seriously ill.

“So many guys on our team are really, really sick right now,” Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil said.

Mack, who sent the game into overtime, could barely enjoy his big shot. Battling a chest cold for the last two weeks, he asked to sit out for the next few minutes just so that he could catch his breath.

“I’ve had trouble breathing,” said Mack, who had scored just 1 point prior to his 3-pointer. He finished with 4 points. “I wasn’t feeling well, but the adrenaline was pumping after that shot.

“We got ourselves out of the hole we dug (down 14 points at the end of the first quarter) but we just couldn’t go all the way with it.”

Stevenson finished with two other players in double-figures besides Fleming.

Bruson, who, in what is being called a program decision, has not yet been given clearance to speak with the media, scored 20 points. He was clutch in overtime, hitting 4-of-6 free throws over the final four minutes.

Senior forward Colby Cashaw added 12 points, including a thunderous baseline dunk in the fourth quarter that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.