Lappin’s 30 leads Glenbrook North over Rolling Meadows
Sam Lappin, Glenbrook North’s senior guard, picked the right time to return to the lineup after missing the last four weeks with a broken right hand.
Lappin scored 30 points in the Spartans’ 63-52 win over host Rolling Meadows Tuesday night.
"My hand had been sore on an off," said Lappin. "I did a lot of physical therapy to get it back going again. When I got back in the game tonight I forget about the pain that my body had in practice. After I hit the first shot I felt like right where I was four weeks ago. We all started hitting."
While getting Lappin back, Glenbrook North lost Josh Fridman to a shoulder separation, but he should be back for the state playoffs.
"This was a heckuva a good comeback for Lappin," said Spartans coach Quinn Hayes. "Patrick Schaller played a very good first half for us with his 9 points. I'm proud of everyone of our guys. They came up with a big effort."
Lappin had five two-point baskets, five three-point baskets and went 5-of-5 from the free-throw line as Glenbrook North improved to 22-5. With New Trier’s loss to Glenbrook South Tuesday, Glenbrook North won the Central Suburban North title.
The Spartans never trailed in the game. They broke out to a 9-0 lead as Lappin, Julian Marta and Ryan Weil all hit three-point baskets to start the game.
"We started out well and we took good shots to get that early lead," said Hayes. "This is a difficult place to play. Our offense worked well and we had a good inside-outside game going to start."
The Mustangs (19-8) pulled to within 18-14 to close the quarter on an Ian Miletic (17 points, 8 rebounds) 3-point basket with :18 left in in the period. Lappin scored 10 points in the quarter.
Glenbrook North went on a 12-2 run in the second quarter in the first 3:52 to build a 30-16 lead. Patrick Schaller scored 7 of his 9 points in the frame.
The Spartans, who shot 22 of 44 from the field, hit 8 of 11 in the quarter to help build a 37-23 halftime lead.
The Mustangs used an 11-4 run hitting all five of their shots to start the second half and pulled to within 42-34 with 5:39 left in the quarter.
Owen Giannoulias hit a free throw and Lappin hit consecutive three-point baskets to build the lead back to 49-34.
Trailing 55-38, Rolling Meadows went 4 of 4 from the field to pull within 55-47 with 5:23 left in the game. Jack Duffer, who led the Mustangs with 21 points, scored 5 in the run.
Again it was Lappin who stopped the run with a three-point basket.
The Mustangs would get as close as 59-52 with 1:01 left but Lappin hit four free throws down the stretch to close out the contest.
"They hit those first 3-point shots to start the game and from that point we had to chase them," said Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "They were more physical than we were and they were very determined to win the game. It's a good lesson for us and we have to work to get better. Lappin had a great game and is a great player.“
Rolling Meadows will look to pick up its 20th win when they visit Wheeling Friday. The Spartans will travel to New Trier Friday and try to sweep the series from the Trevians.