Knights get it right on this night

Saturday's game at Rolling Meadows was exactly the kind of effort Prospect boys basketball coach John Camardella has been waiting for.

That same first half is something Mustangs coach Kevin Katovich will be trying to forget.

The Knights went up 27-15 at the break and held off the Mustangs' second-half rally to win the Mid-Suburban East contest 59-52.

"I've been waiting for this team to beat a legitimate team on the road," said Camardella, whose team is now 9-8 overall and 3-2 in the MSL East. "We scouted them hard. This was the end of the first round in the East. It was very important to finish above .500 in the East."

The Knights took advantage of two 6-foot-6 athletes in Kevin Reed (13 points) and Alex Toth (14).

"With Reed and (myself) out there, they kind of have to pick and choose," Toth said.

But Prospect's effort was deeper than that. Jeff Heiden also scored 14, including a pair of 3s, and Jason Leblebijian added 9. Austin Sobey came off the bench to score 6.

"It was a total team effort," Camardella said. "Our guys kept their poise and finished the game the way we needed them to."

"We really opened ourselves up," Toth said. "It's a big win for us. Everyone really contributed. We don't win here a lot. It's nice to come off with a win against our big rival."

Early in the third, the Mustangs were facing a daunting 33-16 deficit.

"The first half was very bad," Katovich said. "We were very tentative. We just didn't come out aggressive."

But Meadows (8-7, 2-3) finally found its groove thanks to some solid 3-point and free-throw shooting. Kyle Gaedele (13) knocked down two 3s and Ty Kirk (game-high 19) had a little bit of everything to help lead a 21-point third-quarter effort.

The revitalized Mustangs kept it up and after a pair of free throws by Kirk with just 1:39 to go, they were within 57-52.

"We're real proud of our kids for the way they battled back in the second half," Katovich said. "They certainly didn't give up. We threw stuff out there at them and our kids did a good job of adjusting on the fly."

Ben Sabal scored 6 for the Mustangs while Will Trunk and Kevin Serna added 5 apiece.