Cerese stuns Glenbard North with buzzer-beating 3 in double OT
Lake Park senior guard Cam Cerese has hit some big shots for the Lancers in his storied prep career.
The one he made Friday night against visiting Glenbard North just might have been the biggest of all.
Cerese sank an off-balance 3 at the second overtime buzzer to give the Lancers a pulse-pounding 44-42 victory over the Panthers in Roselle.
Lake Park had to rally from a late 3-point deficit in the second OT, before a packed house, to secure the win.
They stayed undefeated in the DuKane Conference, improving to 11-0 (23-3 overall).
“It looked like it was right on line,” said Cerese of the game-winner. “I was hoping it was going to go in.
“I felt like I played a horrible game overall,” he added, “but at least I was able to make up for it at the end.”
It was a difficult loss for Glenbard North, which trailed almost the entire contest but played lights out in the fourth quarter, getting a late steal and bucket to send the game to OT.
“I’m really proud of the guys tonight,” said Panthers coach Kevin Tonn. “I thought they battled for 40 minutes on the offensive and defensive end.
“Unfortunately that last shot didn’t fall our way but I wouldn’t have defended it any differently. It was just a great player (Cerese) making a great shot.”
Lake Park senior forward Thomas Rochford scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as the Lancers took a 4-point lead into intermission.
The Lancers extended the advantage, but Glenbard North rallied late. The Panthers trailed by 2 with under 10 seconds left in regulation when a steal and layup by Jack Schager sent the game into an extra session.
The game was tied 39-39 after the first OT, then Panthers senior JJ Hernandez hit 3 clutch free throws in the second overtime to put his team ahead 42-39.
A Cerese jumper from 8 feet cut in to the lead, then the Lancers got a final chance with 1.2 seconds remaining after a Panthers turnover in the backcourt.
“We were looking for a lob, because there was such little time left,” said Lake Park senior Matthew Geraci. “But they (Glenbard North) were calling out the lob, so Cam was the secondary option.”
Cerese took the inbound pass from Geraci, and with a defender draped all over him, swished the game-winner through from the top of the key.
“That was crazy,” said Geraci. “Just shock. The whole student section just stormed the floor.”
Pavle Magazin of Lake Park, a 6-foot-8 center, said he felt that there was no doubt Cerese would sink the winner.
“Cam with the ball,” he said, “I knew the shot was going in. I trust my boy completely.
“They (Glenbard North) came in with a lot of energy, but we didn’t expect it to go down to the wire like that. Two OTs, very exciting. We worked really hard, we’re all seniors and we really wanted this.”
Cerese, who scored only 2 points in the first half, finished with 16.
Hernandez led the hard-luck Panthers (16-9, 7-4) with 14 points, while teammate Jalen Crues had 11 points and 7 rebounds.
“This is my third year here,” said Tonn, “and I’ve never been more proud of the guys. Just how they competed on the basketball court tonight.”
“I’d like to think we’re going to learn from this, but it hurts right now.”