Grayslake Central loves this victory
Late in the fourth quarter with his boys basketball team clinging to a lead, Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe walked to the scorer's table.
He took a swig of his diet pop and then stated an opinion that even crosstown rivals could agree on.
"Gotta love high school basketball!" Moe said.
Ahhhhh.
Rarely has victory tasted sweeter for Grayslake Central.
Behind Jordan Taylor's game-high 19 points, Casey Boyle's 8 points and 15 rebounds, and just enough free throws down the stretch, the Rams held off Grayslake North 49-41 to capture the Class 3A Antioch regional championship Friday night.
The win for Grayslake Central (21-8) avenged a loss at Grayslake North 10 days earlier, gave the Rams their second regional title in as many years and earned them a berth in their own sectional. The Rams will play another rival, North Chicago, in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Grayslake Central, where the home team is 8-0 this season.
"It's just a great victory," Boyle said. "Winning a regional two years in a row and winning against our crosstown rival? It doesn't get much better than that."
For the second year in a row Grayslake North (19-9) fell 1 win shy of 20. Mark Hall (team-high 11 points) drove end to end to scoop in a layup with 2:45 left and pull the Knights within 44-41, but they never scored again.
"Great high school basketball game, man," said a beaming Moe, holding the championship plaque briefly before Boyle grabbed it back to go celebrate with teammates. "For the fans and the (players), it was a great game. For the coaches ... I lost about 10 years off my life today."
Taylor had the tenacious Danny Mateling on him most of the night but hit several clutch shots, including a 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and extend Grayslake Central's lead to 37-28.
After Grayslake North got within three points late, Taylor sank 2 of 4 free throws, Boyle split a pair, and Danny Reed (8 points) went 2 of 2 from the line to secure the Rams' win.
"We just played together as team, got the job done and got this win," Taylor said. "Now we're moving forward."
When Grayslake North beat Grayslake Central 57-45 on Feb. 21, Boyle did not play due to his injured ankle that saw him miss three games. The Rams had also already clinched the Fox Valley Fox Division championship.
Moe said revenge was not a factor Friday night.
"Our goals are to win regionals and get to sectionals and win conference," he said. "The regular season is the regular season. The playoffs are the playoffs. We looked back at the game film (from the last game), but we really didn't talk about the rivalry. We talked about winning the regional."
Zack Krupp (7 rebounds) and Mateling (two 3-pointers) each scored 8 points for Grayslake North, which trailed only 22-21 at halftime. Taylor took over in the third, netting 8 points, including both of his 3s, as the Rams outscored the Knights 15-7.
As the Rams cut down a net afterward, Taylor was smiling, but also thinking about what's next.
"We love it at our house," Taylor said. "We'll see what happens. We're really looking forward to (the sectional). We're celebrating now, but this is just the beginning right here. We want to go a lot farther than this."