A feel-good victory for Round Lake's seniors
When the varsity last won three straight, the children who were looking up at Round Lake's boys basketball players at game's end and looking up to their new heroes were toddlers.
"There's sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders running up to us after the game," coach Jim Roberts said after his Panthers held off visiting Antioch 49-45 in a hard-fought North Suburban Prairie Division game Friday night.
"We run clinics so we know the kids."
After the Panthers stretched their winning streak to three games their longest since January of 2003 the little kids celebrated with the big kids wearing the home uniforms.
"That's the stuff we need here that excitement like that and energy," Roberts said. "And there's not a better group of guys for the kids in the community to look up to."
Round Lake's seniors, on senior night, led the way.
"We've been playing together," 6-foot-4 senior forward Gage Steger said. "Everything's clicking for us."
Panthers senior guard Juddon Carter scored a game-high 24 points, swishing five 3-pointers, and collected 5 steals. Senior point guard Danny Uriostegui scored 6 points and dished out 5 assists. Senior sharpshooter Anthony Gutierrez scored 5 of his 7 points in the second quarter in helping Round Lake (8-14, 3-7) trim their 16-6 deficit after one quarter to 25-24 by halftime.
Steger made his only shot, and it was clutch. His 16-footer near the baseline, off a dish from Uriostegui, put the Panthers up 43-42 with 2:44 left in the fourth.
"That's my spot," Steger said. "That's what me and Danny do in practice. I just shoot all day."
Antioch, which played without leading scorer William Waschow (calf), was led by its other three-year varsity forward, Karl Nettgen, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
"Nettgen played a heck of a game," Sequoits coach Jim White said. "He's really stepping up for us."
Antioch's Joe Lombardo answered Steger's bucket with his only basket, on a post-up, with 52 seconds left, pulling the Sequoits even at 44-44.
But Carter went 4 of 4 from the foul line in the final 33 seconds. And when Antioch's Anthony Formella purposely missed his second of 2 free throws with 6.8 seconds left and his team trailing by three, and Round Lake's Pache Akono grabbed the rebound, the hosts could celebrate.
"The seniors, we came together," Carter said. "Defensive stops. Hustle plays. We worked hard, and we got it done."
Antioch worked hard, too, but fell to 3-19 and 0-10 in the NSC Prairie.
"Another tough one," White said. "It's our M.O.
"Defensively, we're doing a lot of things. I love this group that way. They stay tenacious with it. It's just unfortunate that when things don't drop, or when things drop for another team, we take it too much to heart."
Formella, who went 8 of 9 from the stripe, added 12 points for the banged-up Sequoits, who dressed only nine players. Joe Gregory had 11 (three 3s).
Round Lake junior forward Mark Jennings scored 6 of his 9 points in the third quarter in helping the Panthers outscore the Sequoits 12-5.
"We got a lot of seniors. They're great kids," Roberts said of Carter, Uriostegui, Gutierrez, Steger, Akono, Matt Houghton and Curtis Miller. "I can't say enough about them."