Miller’s double-double helps Wauconda beat Antioch by double digits

Zach Miller's impressive double-double showcased the kind of trouble Wauconda is capable of causing for opponents.

Miller's personal-high 27 points and 11 rebounds led four Bulldogs in double-figure scoring Wednesday night as they never trailed in the final 26 minutes of their 69-55 Northern Lake County Conference boys basketball showdown victory over visiting Antioch.

"My teammates got me going and gave me the ball and I found openings and they were finding me," Miller, a 6-foot-5 senior, said after shooting 10-for-12 from the field to surpass his previous best of 17 points. "For me personally I'm a momentum player. That's what our team needed today and that's what I did."

Miller's 9 points in the final 3:25 of the first quarter came in an 11-2 burst that put Wauconda (11-5, 5-1) ahead to stay at 19-11 and on its way to a three-way tie for the NLCC lead with Antioch (8-10, 5-1) and Grayslake Central (11-5, 5-1), a 60-31 winner over North Chicago.

And Miller helped close out the victory with 12 points in the final 6:22 after Antioch got within 51-45 on a baseline drive by junior Marshall Gehrke (24 points, 9 rebounds).

"When Zach doesn't settle early and goes to the hoop that's what gets him going," said Wauconda coach Ty Weidner. "He's capable of doing that to basically everyone."

Miller could laugh a bit ruefully about his late missed dunk that was one of the few blemishes on the Bulldogs' shooting from the field of 55.3 percent overall (26-for-47) and 63.6 percent after halftime (14-for-22).

But he and Weidner also smiled about the overall balance that included Mercer-bound Braeden Carlsen's 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting and 10 points apiece from point guard Cayden Mudd (5 rebounds, 3 assists) and 6-5 Colton McLennan. Tyler Tylka added 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

"When we share the ball and move the ball ... those guys executed the game plan tremendously," Weidner said.

"All of us can score," Miller said. "Our coaches set us up and game-planned really well."

Part of the plan for Wauconda was playing strictly man-to-man defense for the first time all year. Antioch got 15 points and 10 rebounds from junior Teddi Wetu and 10 points from senior Carter Webb but shot just 39 percent from the field (23-for-59) and 3-for-16 beyond the 3-point arc.

"I felt it was more of our defense and we had a few defensive lapses, some that were partially on me," Gehrke said after he shot 10-for-18 from the field and had three second-half dunks. "Wauconda is a good team and you can't take a single play off or they'll burn you for open layups or an easy 3. Next time we play them we have to be better.

"It will be a good film to watch, to watch our mistakes and make sure those don't happen the next time."

With Grant looming just a game behind the tri-leaders there are still plenty of obstacles for everyone as the NLCC schedule approaches the midway point. But Miller and his teammates understood the importance of this matchup in its drive for a third NLCC title in five years.

"We viewed this as a huge game," Miller said. "We knew we were the ones who would have to beat them and we took pride in that. We were really excited for this game."