Record goes to Boudreaux as Libertyville falls short
Evan Boudreaux had a certain mindset going into Friday night's game, knowing he needed 21 points to set a Lake Forest boys basketball career scoring record.
What he didn't know was how much opposition there would be to his plan.
The Dartmouth-bound 6-foot-8 big man dealt with missed shots, numerous blocks by Libertyville's Joe Borcia, Ben Kimpler and Peter Feeley, and even committed some turnovers.
On top of all that, Boudreaux injured his left ankle by stepping on a foot in the fourth quarter while coming down with a rebound. At the time, he was 7 points short of 21.
But after two minutes off the court for some tape to his left ankle, Boudreaux returned to score precisely the points he needed. He got the final one from the free throw line with just under 11 seconds left as Lake Forest held off host Libertyville 39-33 in a North Suburban Lake Division battle.
Boudreaux beat the mark held by eventual Michigan standout Matt Vogrich.
"It's pretty surreal right now," Boudreaux said. "I've worked a long time through high school. Coming back (from the injury) really wasn't that big of a deal. It was really hard for me to sit out. I wanted to get back out there."
In the final four minutes, Libertyville (3-4, 0-3) got within 2 points twice. But Boudreaux went 3 for 4 on free throws and also had a pair of baskets.
"I knew coming up to the line that could do it," said Boudreaux, who finished 11-for-13 from the line and 5-for-13 from the field. "My coaches were the ones that told me. On the free throw, I thought I missed it, to be honest. To see it hit the inside of the rim and go in - I'll remember that for a while. To be the number one scorer is huge. Matt has played here and a number of other good players have played here."
Lake Forest (7-0, 3-0) was in control 10-4 after the first quarter and led 14-4 on a Boudreaux layup with 6:38 left in the second quarter.
Defense sparked a 10-2 Libertyville run as Ethan Fowkes had a steal and lay up at the four-minute mark.
The Scouts got a couple of Boudreaux free throws to lead 18-14 at the break.
"We couldn't do any better defensively against (Lake Forest)," Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil said. "I was concerned early, because we had a number of big guys in foul trouble. We were able persevere through all of that."
The Scouts maintained their lead through the third quarter and led 28-22 going into the final period.
Boudreaux suffered his ankle injury with 6:20 left. That's when the Wildcats made a push as Joe Borcia scored 6 of his team-high 12 points. He made a pair of free throws to make it 30-28 with 4:10 left.
But with Boudreaux back on the court, the Wildcats turned the ball over a couple of times with chances to tie.
"The difference at the end was that we were not focused and threw the ball away," Bogumil said. "We just need to focus in the game, and we do have some younger guys. But we need to execute down there. It's not a moral victory, but I thought we played well."
Lake Forest kept its composure as Justin McMahon (5 points) made a pair of free throws in the final seconds.
"(Libertyville) plays hard and they've got a couple of bigs that match up with us," Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala said. "I thought we didn't shoot the ball very well. I give a lot of credit to Libertyville for that. They do a good job of their defense rotating, and we couldn't spread out their defense.
"Boudreaux is a go-to-guy and our bread and butter shooting free throws down the stretch. That makes him someone you want to have the ball at the end of the game."