Gorden, Grant grab another victory
The unexpected extended minutes didn't change Joe Gorden's mindset.
He just kept doing what he does. Which included hustling at both ends of the court, chipping in offense, attacking the glass and providing a spark coming off the bench.
Grant's sixth man, Gorden received more playing time than usual at Round Lake on Friday night after leading scorer Hunter Waszkowski left the game with an injury in the first quarter. Gorden took advantage, scoring 10 points and grabbing 9 rebounds, as Grant won 57-31 to maintain sole possession of first place in the Northern Lake County Conference.
"I knew I had to do a little more on the offensive side of the ball (after Waszkowski went out)," said Gorden, a 6-foot-2 senior guard who also had 2 steals and took a charge. "But for the most part, I just go out there and try to play my similar game. When my number gets called, I try and go out there and just make the hustle plays and see what I can do to help our team win."
Tavarus Williams (5 rebounds) and Torren Curry (3 steals) each scored 11 points to lead the way offensively for Grant (12-10, 6-1), which won its third game in a row.
Sophomore Hakim Williams, who came in averaging around 19 points per game, had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots for Round Lake (9-13, 0-7).
Grant led 6-5 when Waszkowski got hit in the face (mouth and nose) with an errant elbow. He left the game and did not return.
"My vision's a little blurry, but it's getting better," Waszkowski said after the game.
Gorden and Samir Muhammad combined to score 7 points immediately after Waszkowski was sidelined, and their efforts helped the Bulldogs take a 15-7 advantage into the second quarter.
"Of course it takes away a really scorer that we have," Gorden said of Waszkowski's absence. "With Hunter, it's also a leader that's down. But we're gritty so we had the nice mindset to just think, 'Next man up.' "
Muhammad scored 5 of his 7 points, including a 3-pointer, in the first quarter.
"He can shoot it," Grant coach Wayne Bosworth said of the senior forward. "So he's got the green light to come in and knock them down. He knows that's his role. He comes in and he's going to let it fly if he's open."
Gorden played his role perfectly too, collecting 5 of his rebounds on the offensive end. He scored twice on putbacks in the second half in helping Grant pull away.
"He brings the energy," Waszkowski said. "He's a hype man."
Grant limited Round Lake to 1-of-10 shooting and 4 points in the second quarter, and led 27-11 at halftime
"Grant, they're just tough," Round Lake coach Jay Iden said. "They bully you, and they did a good job. We got flustered. We got a little stagnant in the first half."
Iden started sophomores Williams, Isaiah Nixon, Nick Pierre and recent call-up Deveauntay McNeal (7 rebounds) along with junior Kevonne Peterson. Pierre hit a pair of 3-pointer for 6 points, and Nixon connected on a 3 as well.
"With such a young group, we'll get out of our rhythm like this, and Grant did a great job of getting us out of our rhythm," Iden said. "Mature Grant team. Young (Round Lake) team."