Gaedele, Meadows blast past Libertyville

What happened is what both Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich and Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil didn't want to happen:

A shootout at the Mustangs ranch.

When the smoke cleared, the 10th-seeded host Mustangs came out ahead 78-73 in a wild finish against the seventh-seeded Wildcats in Class 4A Rolling Meadows regional play. The Mustangs advance to Friday's 7:30 p.m. regional championship against No. 2 St. Viator.

Meadows forward Tyler Gaedele scored a career high 34 points, including a school record 9 3-pointers.

Mustangs center Michael Rose played strong at both ends with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and guard Brian Nelms scored 17 on 13 of 14 free throws he made 10 of 11 in the fourth quarter as Meadows improved to 17-10.

"I got some great screens tonight from our guards," said Gaedele. "I could not have scored all those points without them. I took what the defense gave me. I'm just happy to advance to the championship game."

The Wildcats saw Griffin Pils finish with 34 points, including six 3s. Ellis Matthews chipped in 22 points for Libertville, which finished 14-13.

"Before the game we talked about not getting into a shoot out with them," said Katovich. "It turned out to be a high-scoring game. We knew Libertyville had some skill players and would shoot the ball well."

"We knew Gaedele could shoot," said Bogumil. "But I didn't think the score would get that high. I thought to win we would have to score in the 60s. A key to the game was late in the first half when we tied the score at 27. They finished off the quarter with a little run and we had to chase them the second half."

Rose broke the tie with a basket with 46 seconds left in the half, giving Meadows a 29-27 lead. Gaedele nailed a 3-pointer with :04 left.

"I came out strong tonight," said Rose. "I liked scoring tonight, and the rebounds I got. The guards really helped set up the inside game. We bounced back from the loss against Schaumburg. Now we have to keep going."

The Wildcats tied the game for the last time at 35 with 6:43 in the third quarter on Pils' 3-pointer. But the Mustangs countered with a 7-0 spurt started by a Gaedele 3.

Pils hit a 3 with 12 seconds left in the game to cut the lead to 73-70.

Matthews was called for a delay of game technical and Libertyville received a second technical for arguing the call. Nelms hit all 4 free throws.

"This is such a good group," said Katovich. "Rose did a great job and Tyler had it in another gear."