Lake Park defends home court
Ten Lake Park seniors weren't going to let this one slip away.
Not with hardware on the line, and certainly not at home.
The Lancers claimed their first regional crown since 2007 with Friday's 60-56 win over York in the Class 4A Lake Park final. Fifth-seeded Lake Park (20-8) advances to Tuesday's Schaumburg sectional semifinals to face No. 1 Proviso East (28-0), a 51-48 winner over Glenbard North.
"That was pretty intense, the whole fourth quarter," said Lancers senior Dominique Spencer, who scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. "We've turned the program around the past four or five years. We've been working hard in the summer and this season, and it paid off tonight."
Even though Lake Park grabbed the lead for good with a 10-0 start to the second half, an advantage that grew to 11 points late in the third quarter was never safe.
A barrage of 3-pointers from No. 4 York (22-9) quickly rallied the Dukes. Jake Rzeszutko, Matt DiFrancesca and David Cohn combined for 11 3s, including five in the fourth quarter. Trading 3 points for 2, York steadily rallied to within 53-51 on DiFrancesca's 3-pointer with 1:54 left in the game.
"My kids fight, and I'm proud of them," said York coach Tom Kleinschmidt. "We've got big hearts, but they were a little more seasoned tonight. I tip my cap to them."
York had two chances to tie, but a turnover and a missed 3-pointer kept Lake Park ahead. The Lancers hit 7 of 10 free throws in the final 1:05 to seal the win.
"For most of the fourth quarter, we had five seniors out there," said Lancers guard Nick Zanghi, who made 7 of 10 free throws on the night. "All of us wanted it so bad in front of our home crowd. Losing just wasn't an option for us."
Spencer scored 18 of his team's 26 first-half points as the Dukes snagged a 27-26 lead at the break. Zanghi scored 11 points and Dave Prentis had 10 off the bench.
Rzeszutko scored 23 points for York, with Cohn adding 13 points.
"These are 10 seniors that have stuck together and bought in and believed in what we told them from Day One," said Lake Park coach Josh Virostko. "That's all you can ask for as a coach. That you have kids that have a story to tell and a memory to make. I think tonight they made a memory and hopefully we have an opportunity to make another memory, if we're lucky enough, down the road."