Lake Zurich wins twice, makes Pekin finale

Lake Zurich's boys basketball team, the defending tournament champion in Pekin's Holiday Classic, is on track for a repeat.

The Bears, not selected as one of the top four seeds in the 16-team affair, picked up a pair of wins Tuesday and will meet No. 4 seed Springfield Lanphier for the championship at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Lake Zurich (10-2) advanced by topping Peoria Richwoods 55-44 on Tuesday evening.

Nick Penny led the way with an 18-point effort which included 9-for-9 at the foul line. Ryan Kutsor had 14 points, converting 3 of 4 from the field and 8 of 10 at the line.

Penny also corraled a game-high 11 rebounds, Brett Hensley made three 3s to finish with 9 points and Lake Zurich finished 19-for-21 on foul shooting.

Kaelen Johnson paced Richwoods with a game-best 19 points.

Lake Zurich 37, Mt. Carmel 36: Lake Zurich won its first game of the day at Pekin by edging the Caravan by a single point.

The Bears bounced back from a third quarter in which they scored 3 points by out-pointing Mt. Carmel 14-10 in the fourth.

Nick Meyer (13 points) and Michael Bens (11) led the Bears in scoring, and both made three 3s. Nick Penny came up with a game-high 6 assists.

Grayslake Central 48, Harlem 42: Jack Beckman scored a team-best 15 points and blocked 2 shots to help the Rams win for a second straight day in Chuck Dayton tournament play at DeKalb.

Grayslake Central (6-6) also got 8 points from Sam Ruhlmann and 7 from Justin Shepley.

Schurz 65, Mundelein 48: Kyle Enright scored a team-best 12 points and Tommy Marcotte reached double figures in scoring with 11 points but the Mustangs (0-11) dropped their third straight in tournament play in DeKalb.

Peoria Manual 85, Warren 47: The Rams shot a scorching 24-for-35 from the field in the second half to deny the Blue Devils in an afternoon game at Pontiac.

Jalen Deere led Warren with 11 points on the bench.

The Blue Devils were also scheduled for a 9 p.m. tipoff against Niles West on Tuesday.