Toughness, finesse carry Prospect
Prospect used some on-court toughness and some finesse in beating Wheeling 48-40 at the the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect on Friday night.
The Knights' Grant Miller, whose nickname is Bulldog, provided the toughness. And sophomore Frankie Mack had the finesse in the Mid-Suburban East victory.
"Miller's toughness is his calling card. He's a catcher on the baseball team. He's a big reason why we walked out of here with a win," said Prospect coach John Camardella. "Frankie has put in a lot of work in practice to prepare for the moments that came to him tonight. I expect him to hit shots like he did tonight. He has made steady progress."
Leading 11-10 after the first quarter, Mack, who is shooting 45 percent from 3-point range, hit on back-to-back 3s to give the Knights (5-4, 3-0) a 17-10 lead.
Kyle Formanski (11 points, 7 rebounds) knocked down a 3 before Alex Karras, who led the 3-5, 1-2 Wildcats with 15 points, connected on a 3 for Wheeling's only points in the quarter.
Kyle Beyak hit a 3-pointer and Joe Paczko finished the second quarter with a basket to expand the lead to 25-13.
Wheeling countered with a 14-4 third quarter to pull within 29-27 at the end of three quarters. Karras and sophomore Jalen Dennis each scored 5 points in the quarter.
Karras' 3 for Wheeling made the score 31-30 Knights with 7:28 left in the game.
Mack and Miller then hit for 3s to put Prospect ahead 39-34 with 2:38 left.
A free throw by Dennis (7 points) made the score 39-35.
Mack hit for a 3 and Miller connected on 3 free throws, of which two came on a technical foul on the Wildcats' bench. Another charity toss by Beyak made the score 46-35 with :44 left.
"That 3-pointer by Mack was big because it gave us a 7-point lead," said Camardella.
Miller grabbed 3 rebounds and scored all of his 10 points in the final quarter with the game on the line.
"I like a physical game like this," said Miller. "I thrive in a game like this because that suits my style of play. Frankie made some good shots and I hit my free throws down the stretch when it counted."
"It took some confidence to make those shots," said Mack. "I give a lot of credit to the seniors on this team. They found me in a position where I was able to get good looks."
The Knights hit a total of nine 3s and hit 13 of 16 free throws. The Wildcats went to the free throw line only five times and made 3, all by Dennis.
"Conference-wise we are looking good at 3-0 and I'm happy about that," said Camardella. "We still have to work on cleaning up some things. I have to give a lot of credit to Wheeling tonight. They played with a lot of effort and toughness."