Hersey 52, Wheeling 39

He's a basketball coach's dream. A 6-foot-9 forward that can defend and nail 3-pointers from basically anywhere inside half court.

But add an ever-improving inside game and you've created a complete nightmare for his opponents.

Senior Luke Fabrizius just missed a triple-double Friday night at Ken Carter Gymnasium with 22 points, 10 blocks and 7 rebounds as Hersey won its fifth consecutive game, 52-39 over Wheeling (4-6, 0-4) in the Mid-Suburban East.

The Dayton-bound senior drained three 3-pointers as the Huskies (8-3, 4-0) improved to 4-0 at home, but he also added a couple of mid-range jumpers in the lane, two rebound baskets and a breakaway steal and layup.

When he's hitting from all spots on the floor, is he almost getting to the point where he can't be guarded?

"I don't know if he's at that point, but he's starting to get there," said Hersey coach Steve Messer.

Fabrizius was also dominant on the other end, blocking 4 shots in the fourth quarter as Wheeling was held to 4 points. Its only field goal was a floater by junior James Kurtz (7 points) that pulled the Wildcats within 45-39 with 2:38 remaining.

"Fabrizius just blocked everything inside," said Wheeling coach Lou Wool, whose team scored only 15 points while shooting 21 percent (5-of-23) from the floor in the second half. "We didn't make the adjustment to get inside and kick it outside to an open player. We were trying to shoot over the top."

Any thoughts of a Wheeling fourth-quarter comeback were silenced when Fabrizius was fouled by Wheeling senior Alex Chery (11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks) on a 3-point attempt from the left corner. Fabrizius' shot tickled the bottom of the net and he sank the free throw to give Hersey a 49-39 lead.

Hersey senior Griffin Dwyer, who has averaged 17.3 as the Huskies have won 6 of their last 7, knocked down his first two 3-point attempts and finished with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting. But it was his defensive effort on Lewis University-bound Chris McClellan (8 points) that drew rave reviews.

"That goes overlooked so much," Fabrizius said. "(Griffin) did a great job tonight in stopping McClellan. They run through (McClellan) for everything and he stopped it."

So as the team's designated defensive stopper, how would Dwyer guard Fabrizius if he was ever faced with that unenviable task?

"I don't know," Dwyer said with a laugh. "He's 6-9, he can shoot, he can drive, post up, and his inside game has gotten better. I really don't know."

Prospect 59, Elk Grove 45: Prospect has that confident feeling back.

And why not after Friday night's suffocating defensive effort that forced visiting Elk Grove to miss 32-of-49 shots from the floor in a 59-45 MSL win for the Knights at Jean Walker Field House.

"You have to keep bringing the pressure," Knight guard Pat Ziegenfuss said of coach John Camardella's relentless preaching. Ziegenfuss did his share, although he got into a little foul trouble guarding one of the area's leading scorers, Billy Hubly. The Grenadier star finished with 11, but worked for every one of them.

"Pat (Ziegenfuss) and Peter McBride…the two of them wore him down," said Camardella, and got help from big men Kevin Reed (17 points) and Alex Toth (13), who blocked a combined 6 shots.

"Alex and Kevin played great tonight," he continued after they combined to shoot 12-of-21 as well as key two runs that opened up the game.

The Knights (6-5, 2-2) scored 9 straight in the second quarter to pull away from a 1-point game and then 8 straight in the third quarter, punctuated by the outside shooting of Jason Leblebijian and, off the bench, sophomore heir-apparent point guard Joe LaTulip.

Anytime Elk Grove made a run, usually ignited by Kevin McDonald (12 points), Matt Martinski (8) and the overall floor game of Joe Baxter, Camardella made sure to remind his team to finish strong and handle the ball well during a timeout or two. But it was defense that did it.

"He (Camardella) stresses on-the-ball pressure," said Ziegenfuss. "Our on-the-ball (pressure) was good tonight."

Elk Grove, though, has seen this game before. The Grens (0-10, 0-4) played hard, fell behind a taller, deeper team, used their quickness to force turnovers and go on runs that got the lead down to as few as 7, and then just got overwhelmed again.

"It was the third quarter that hurt us," said coach Anthony Furman, when Prospect went on what would be the game-clinching run. "We played behind the post," and that was a killer, as Reed and Toth ran free inside.

-- Howard Schlossberg