La Lumiere towers over Dundee-Crown

Perhaps the La Lumiere Lakers should be known as the Mountaineers.

With a front line measuring 6-foot-9, 6-9, and 6-5, the visitors from LaPorte, Ind., towered over the Dundee-Crown Chargers, and the Chargers seemed keenly aware of that fact.

The Lakers raced out to an 18-5 lead and cruised to a 64-42 victory in the quarterfinals of the 37th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament Tuesday at Chesbrough Field House.

"They're a good team," said Chargers coach Lance Huber. "One of their biggest assets is intimidation. I felt like we were intimidated a little bit, and that hurt us early on."

Dylan Kissack, D-C's tallest starter at 6-2, led the Chargers with 11 points.

Once the Chargers found a little bit of swagger, they played pretty well, staying in the game with ball movement and 3-point shooting. After trailing by as many as 17, the Chargers went on an 11-2 run to get within 49-38 early in the fourth quarter.

But the Lakers' athleticism took over again as they outscored the Chargers 15-4 the rest of the way.

Raphael Davis led La Laumiere with 21 points, while Hanner Parea added 12.

Not surprisingly, the Lakers outrebounded the Chargers, 25-13. They shot 55 percent from the field. The Chargers shot a respectable 44 percent, but attempted 6 fewer shots. Moreover, they made just 1 of 3 free throws.

Brandon Rodriguez and Cordero Parson each scored 7 points for Dundee-Crown (5-5), which plays Buffalo Grove at 11:15 a.m. today.

The Chargers were only outscored by 3 points during the second and third quarters, but Huber wasn't impressed.

"Unfortunately, you have to play for four (quarters), and we have to learn to get over that hump," he said.

Long-distance shooting was the Chargers' best weapon, as they made 5 from long range. Kyle Bernhard had 2 of those, with Kissack, Parson and Will Stupar each getting 1.