College of Lake County surges entering postseason
College of Lake County men’s basketball coach Joe Paul wants the same thing as any other coach: to have his team playing its best basketball going into the playoffs.
That is exactly what the Lancers are doing these days, compiling a three-game winning streak heading into this week’s eight-team Skyway Conference tournament. The winner of the tournament will qualify for nationals in late March.
The Lancers received the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 Prairie State College at home in Grayslake at 7:15 p.m. today. The Lancers split the regular-season meetings with Prairie State, with both games going down the wire.
It might seem like déjà vu for the Lancers, who finished 14-15, including 7-7 in the Skyway — exactly the same as last season. The Lancers are hoping the playoff magic of last season will repeat itself. They advanced all the way to the Region IV championship game, upsetting the No. 1 seed and just falling short in the in the waning minutes of the final.
“The similarities to this year and last year are amazing,” Paul said. “We hoped to have a better record this season, but we’ve lost many close games and had a few injuries and inconsistencies along the way. I believe we are peaking and will be a dangerous team in our conference tournament. The karma on this team is good right now, and the players feel like they can beat anyone on any given day. That’s a great feeling to have. … They’re a confident group of guys.”
Lake County’s good vibe stems from a recent of string of excellent efforts, including wins over Oakton (68-44), McHenry County (82-73) and Elgin (85-67). In all three games, Racine, Wis., natives Jalen Riley, who averages a team-best 15.9 points per game, Alex Marzette (13.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Chris Souter (12.8 ppg) have made huge contributions.
But perhaps the biggest difference lately has been the play of Division III recruit Alex Morgunov.
The 6-foot-8 center played his best game of the year against Elgin, scoring 17 points, grabbing 6 rebounds and blocking 4 shots. For the season, Morgunov averages 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds.
“When Alex plays well, we’re a different team,” Paul said. “If we can get that effort from him, take care of the ball, and continue to play great team defense, we can go a long way.”
Lake County’s roster also includes Libertyville product Will Meyer, who averages 4.2 points.