Boys basketball: Stevenson surges late, knocks off NSC leader Waukegan to pull even in race
There were some pretty wild surges when host Stevenson met Waukegan in a battle for first place in the North Suburban Conference boys basketball standings Friday night.
Trailing 38-23 at halftime the visiting Bulldogs went on a 15-0 lead to open the second half as they quickly tied the game at 38-38 with 3:41 left in the third quarter.
But when all was said and done, it was a late 9-point run by the Patriots that helped carry Stevenson to a 65-54 NSC victory to fall in a first-place tie with Waukegan (17-6) with 7-2 records in the conference.
A dunk by Waukegan's Antonio Xavi Granville (team-high 17 points) cut the Pats' lead to 47-46 with 7:41 to play before a deep 3-pointer by Stevenson junior Rocco Pagliocca (game-high 22 points, 5 rebounds) made the score 50-46 with 6:40 to go.
Still leading 53-51, Stevenson (16-8) went on a 9-point run as 5 points by Pagliocca, a driving basket by Aidan Bardic (13 points, 5 assists), and a driving hoop in the lane by junior Donny Williams (17 points, 4 assists) pretty much put the game away with a 62-51 lead with 1:04 remaining.
"I was just extremely pleased how we passed the ball, and we passed the ball better than we did all year," said Stevenson coach Will Benson, whose team outrebounded Waukegan 33-27. "We really did a nice job of getting stops, we only had seven turnovers, and it's just nice to get a big win and continue playing the way we've been playing."
The Patriots led 15-12 after one quarter before they went on a 10-point run for a 30-18 lead in the second quarter. Pagliocca (12 points), Williams (10 points), and Bardic (9 points) carried the scoring load in the first half.
"We started the first half strong. Obviously they scored 15 points straight to start the second half, but we definitely shared the ball more to build that lead back that we had in the first half," said Pagliocca. "I can guarantee you that I know I'm going to play as hard as I can every single night. I know my teammates want to win more than anything and so when we can play together with that it's hard to beat us."
Stevenson senior Atticus Richmond had 16 rebounds, 5 points, and 5 assists while teammate Liam Curtin had 8 points and 6 rebounds. Waukegan teammates Jaali Rico Love and Simereon Carter had 11 points each, and Carter Newsome and Trey'veon Roberts scored 7 and 6 points, respectively, for the Bulldogs.
"We just said we have to play like we have since November, but we needed to do it sooner," said Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw, whose team outscored the Patriots 21-9 in the third quarter. "It was a tale of two halves for sure. If your surge is from 15 down to tie it that is just still a lot of ground you have to cover to surge ahead."
The Pats outscored the Bulldogs 18-10 in the fourth quarter. The teams will meet again at Waukegan on Feb. 19.
Bardic was recognized before the game for becoming the seventh player in school history to reach the 1,000-point milestone last Friday at Libertyville.