Niles North stops never-say-die Libertyville in OT
It was never-say-die for Libertyville in the finals of the 40th annual Wheeling Hardwood Classic late Saturday night.
Libertyville battle from deep deficits the entire game but rallied to send the game into overtime — only to finally succumb to state-ranked and still-undefeated Niles North 72-65.
“Everybody wrote us off except for us,” Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski said. “This is a special group of guys. We fight until the end.”
The Wildcats were down nearly the whole game, many times by double digits. They also lost their top player Drew Peterson, who fouled out with under a minute to play.
Despite all that, the Wildcats battled to tie the game at 60 thanks to a 3 by Travis Clark and a pair of free throws by Josh Steinhaus.
“We knew we could come back, even with Drew on the bench,” said Steinhaus, who finished with 16 points in 3 three-pointers. “I just knew I could knock those free throws down. We came back so far, and I didn't want it to end there.”
Libertyville (9-5) looked solid early and led 14-10 late in the first quarter when Niles North began to speed things up.
The Vikings (12-0) ran off 8 consecutive points to lead 18-14. And then, leading 20-18, Nikes North rattled off 10 more points in a row while for info 6 turnovers and suddenly it was 30-18 with 4:33 left in the first half.
Niles North extended its lead to 38-25 on a dunk on the first play of the third quarter, and it appeared that the Vikings were on their way.
Libertyville began to slowly chip away at the lead. The Wildcats closed to 39-36 on a basket by Steinhaus with 3:42 left in the third quarter.
Niles North blasted off another 8 consecutive points just before the end of the third quarter and the Vikings again had a double-digit lead.
Niles North look comfortable with a 56-47 lead with 2:39 to play. That's when the Wildcats really went to work.
Baskets by Brendan Cook and Chase Eyre got Libertyville a bit closer. Then Steinhaus drilled a 3 to make it 58-55 with 53.2 seconds to play.
Niles North converted another shot to lead 60-55, and then Peterson fouled out just 7 seconds later after a missed shot.
“It was obviously hard to watch,” said Peterson, who finished with 18 points. “We fought hard and I had confidence in my teammates that we could get the win.”
After the Wildcats sent the game into overtime, the teams traded baskets before Niles North surged ahead on a free throw and a basket to lead 65-62 with 2:07 left.
Libertyville close the margin twice to 1 point, but their final rally fell just a bit short.
“It was back and forth and both teams battle hard,” Zyrkowski said. “This early in the season, to be fighting this hard — I am so proud of our guys.”
It was the first Hardwood Classic title for Niles North, and it allowed coach Glenn Olson, Jr. to breathe a sigh of relief.
“We are very excited to win this after so many attempts,” Olson said. “We made some mistakes down the stretch, but credit Libertyville and how hard they played.”