Stevenson powers past Libertyville
It was a game that began with a 4-point play.
And maybe another early play told the tale.
Unbeaten Stevenson actually missed a dunk, and the ball went all the way to the Libertyville bench, where a disgruntled Scott Bogumil (Libertyville's coach) caught the basketball.
The runaway Pats spurted to a 45-18 lead late in the second half. From that point on, the visitors from Libertyville battled back. No, it wasn't enough as Stevenson (6-0, 2-0) prevailed 78-55 in North Suburban Lake play Wednesday.
"They can score in transition,'' Bogumil said. "They are so unselfish. They find the open man. And we panicked early."
Talk about a quick shock. The first basket of the night went to Pats senior Matt Johnson. He nailed the first of 10 Stevenson 3-pointers and he was fouled. He sank the free throw and he and the Pats were up 4-0.
"I've done that a couple of times, but not to start a game,'' Johnson said.
The first few minutes of the contest had fans on both sides watching in awe. Johnson had 7 of his 16 points in the first two minutes of action.
There was a steal and dunk from Jalen Brunson (14 points). Not to be outdone, senior Connor Cashaw fired in back-to-back 3-pointers and it was quickly 21-6.
Rising star Justin Smith (14 points) helped out Stevenson with a rebound and dunk.
"I do whatever they need me to do,'' Smith said. "I worked hard in the off-season with weightlifting and shooting and ball-handling."
Another dunk, this one from senior Jeremy Webb, gave the Pats a 47-20 lead late in the first half.
That's when the Wildcats' big man, Joe Borcia, took over the game. The big fellow (6-foot-10), had a personal 6-point run before halftime.
"We really competed in the second half,'' Bogumil said. "We kept on getting the ball inside. So that's something to build on."
The Cats (3-3) also got a spirited effort from 6-foot-6 senior Conor Peterson. He battled on the boards and had 16 points. On Borcia's first
bucket of the second half, the Cats had cut the Stevenson lead to 17 points at 47-30.
"We are undersized,'' Smith said. "We need to box out better."
The powerful Pats kept on hitting from long range to keep the Cats well behind. Brunson had his lone 3-pointer late in the third quarter. When Parker Nichols (12 points) buried back-to-back 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter, the Pats had rebuilt the lead to 67-40.
Borcia (19 points) kept on getting to the foul line late in the game. After he missed his first three free throws, he made of 6 of 7 in the final quarter.