Lakes takes winning show on the road
Playing on the road has almost become the norm for the Lakes boys basketball team, which has had only one home game so far.
This young Eagles team is getting more and more comfortable with their wandering ways, though.
Lakes got its first win in the North Suburban Conference’s Prairie Division on Saturday afternoon with a road victory over Round Lake 64-38.
The Eagles improved to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the Prairie, while the Panthers dropped to 4-10 and 0-4.
For the first time this season, Lakes had four players score in double figures. Bennett Haviland led the way with a career-high 17 points, Jacob Balliu added 16 and 7 rebounds and Tramone Hudson and Michal Tomasiewicz (8 boards and 4 steals) each added 10 points.
“I thought we were fine once we got into a rhythm out there,” Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “We did some good things offensively and defensively. We saw some of our guards hit some shots, and that builds their confidence. It took a lot of weight of the other guys’ shoulders.
“It was good balanced scoring for us, and that’s when we’re good. We’re at our best sharing the ball and stepping up and knocking down shots. We’re getting more consistent and going in the right direction.”
Balliu started hitting those shots for the Eagles late in the second quarter. The Panthers had cut the lead to 19-15 on a 3-pointer from Austin Soto with 2:40 remaining.
Then Balliu dropped in 7 of his 11 points in the second quarter as part of an 8-2 run to close the quarter and give the Eagles a 27-17 lead at the break. Balliu hit a pair of treys; on the second one he was fouled and made the free throw for a 4-point play.
“We needed a boost and it was time to pick it up,” Balliu said. “We needed a spark to get going. I started to hit some shots. The 4-point play gave us a spark going into the second half. It got us fired up and ready to go.”
Tomasiewicz picked up the scoring starting the third quarter, scoring 6 points in a 13-3 spurt that increased the Eagles’ lead to 40-20.
The Panthers rallied with 7 straight points as Soto hit another trey that cut the lead to 40-27 with two minutes left in the third quarter, but by period’s end Lakes led 47-32.
Haviland scored 10 points in the final quarter as the Eagles maintained control.
“We were able to the get the offense flowing,” Haviland said. “We were nonstop and made it click. We found the open guy and knocked the shots down.”
Round Lake was led by Karnell Wright with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Matuesz Lopez chipped in 10 points and 9 boards.
Panthers coach Jeremy Fisher was hoping for better results in his team’s first game following the holiday break
“We just didn’t come out very well,” Fisher said. “We missed some easy shots and they didn’t fall. Then, the wheels fell off, especially in the second half. We had opportunities — we were there but we couldn’t pu the ball in the hole.
“We just have to keep working and we’ll get better.”