Seniors help BG pull through at PR
Buffalo Grove saved its best for last.
Trailing by as many as 14 in the first half, the Bison outscored Prairie Ridge 20-11 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 55-47 victory in a non conference boys basketball game in Crystal Lake on Tuesday night.
"To say we really struggled in the first half is an understatement," said Bison boss Ryan O' Connor. "Give Prairie Ridge credit -- they really pressured us. In the second half, we had better spacing on offense. We settled down and we had great senior leadership when we needed it."
Buffalo Grove (8-1) trailed the entire game before senior Brian DeSimone nailed A 12-footer in the lane with 7:33 remaining to give the Bison the lead for good at 37-36.
Buffalo Grove (8-1) kept the momentum going and ripped off 9 straight points without an answer from the Wolves (1-9).
DeSimone had a putback, Paul Timko canned a 3-pointer and Kevin Mulligan hit a 12-footer as the Bison turned a 1-point deficit into a 8-point lead at 44-37 with 5:11 left.
PR battled back and got to within 3 at 47-44 after a layup by Bryan McGinn with 3:22 remaining.
The Bison sealed the win by making 8 of 8 free throws in the final minute and 33 seconds. DeSimone, Timko, Mulligan and Mike Ricciardi each delivered 2 free throws to preserve the win.
DeSimone led the Bison with 19, including 16 in the second half. Ricciardi scored 13, Timko 11 and Mulligan 10.
Buffalo Grove, which made only 10 of 42 from the field in the first three quarters for 23 percent, made 5-of-7 from the field in the fourth quarter for 71 percent.
"We played well when it didn't count," said PR coach Corky Card. "They played well when it counted. They stepped up at crunch time while we got timid."
The Wolves came out with great intensity, especially at the defensive end. PR held Buffalo Grove without a field goal until Nick Prus made a layup with 1:15 left in the first quarter which cut PR's deficit to 9-3. A pair of baskets by Mike Ungari upped the Wolves' lead to 10 at 13-3.
PR's biggest lead was 14 after a trey by Bryan Bradshaw with 4:18 left before intermission.
McGinn led the Wolves with 13.
"We played a very good first half and really stuck it to them defensively," said Card. "We played with great effort."