Grayslake Central wins physical battle over Garnt
To get a feel for how physical the Northern Lake County Conference boys basketball battle between Grayslake Central and Grant was going to be, all you had to do was look at Rams senior Ethan Boelens.
Just before the opening tip, an unfortunate bounce from the ball caught Boelens in the nose, drawing blood.
"I was just going for a rebound and the ball caught me in the nose," said Boelens, who had to play most of the first half with a gauze pad jammed into his nose. "That was the first time I could remember that happening."
Grayslake Central made more than just a few shots of its own and eventually pulled away from the visiting Bulldogs 51-41 Friday night.
The Rams have now won 7 straight and improved to 12-8 overall while maintaining the top spot in the NLCC with a 6-1 mark.
"(Grant) really came out and punched us in the mouth and for the most part I thought we handled it pretty well," Grayslake Central coach Brian Centella said. "It was just one of those games - not always going to be pretty."
The hosts jumped on the Bulldogs at the end of the first quarter and to start the second with a 9-0 burst. The streak broke a close game open with the Rams taking a 16-4 advantage with 6:02 to go in the first half.
Despite being down a starter in sophomore Randal Holm, the Bulldogs battled back. The half-court trapping defense led to a few easy buckets and in a matter of 4 minutes, the deficit was down to 18-12.
"We still have to understand that every single possession is valuable," Grant coach Wayne Bosworth said. "We hit those lulls where we get down double figures, then battle back then hit a lull again. We have to learn how to handle that better."
Behind the scoring of Boelens and Dylan Dumanlang, Grayslake Central pulled out to a 34-23 advantage at halftime.
Dumanlang was the calming influence again for the Rams on both ends of the floor. He scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the second half including 7 in the fourth quarter.
"(Dylan) is my best friend and we have been playing together for my whole life," Boelens said. "When the pressure is on we just spread it out and let him go to work."
Grant (6-15, 2-5) closed to within 7 points at 29-22 on a long 3-pointer from Mikal Ashley with 2:30 left in the period then went scoreless from the field until the 6-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
Ashley led the Bulldogs with 12 points.
"Our guys never quit," Bosworth said of his Bulldogs, who had won three of their last four coming into Friday night.
"We are young and we have to continue to learn from games like this."
Grayslake Central used one last run in the fourth to pull away and secure its 10th win in its last 11 games. The 9-2 burst led by a steal and bucket from Daniel Rogers (9 points), helped to seal the win.