Boys basketball: Wauconda rallies past Grayslake Central, clinches NLCC title
No lead was safe for host Grayslake Central as the Rams tried to stave off Wauconda for at least a share of the Northern Lake County Conference boys basketball championship Friday night.
A 10-1 run gave Grayslake Central a 32-23 lead midway through the third quarter. But the Bulldogs answered that surge with a 15-2 run of their own to take a 38-34 lead into the fourth quarter.
Wauconda (22-7, 12-1) displayed a refuse to lose attitude the rest of the way as it went on a 14-4 run in the final quarter en route to a 57-50 NLCC victory to clinch the conference title outright over the Rams (20-9, 10-3) with one NLCC game left on the schedule.
Grayslake Central's Alex Granville (16 points) scored the first five points of the fourth quarter for a 39-38 lead. But the second 3-pointer in 33 seconds by Wauconda junior Austin Carlsen (game-high 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 2 assists) followed by Leo Brinias' basket off a turnover gave the Bulldogs a 52-43 lead with just over two minutes to play.
"Our practices are nothing but up-tempo. We joke that it's 32 minutes of organized chaos so we're used to flying around and we understand that runs are part of the game," said Wauconda coach Ty Weidner, whose team outscored the Rams 37-28 in the second half.
"Sebastian Klein is so tremendous for us up top on defense, he changes the game for us and allows us to do those traps and some of the things that get us going. He (Carlsen) is such a tough cover, he can score inside and outside and he's a matchup nightmare. Grayslake Central did such a great job early getting us out of our game."
A 3-pointer by Granville cut the lead to 52-46 with 1:56 to play. But a drive by Alex Ortega (8 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) made the score 54-46 with 39 seconds to go. Senior Tony Salemi had 15 points and 8 rebounds for the Bulldogs while Brinias had 9 points.
"In the fourth quarter it's all about staying composed and we said we wanted to win the conference at Grayslake Central," said Carlsen, whose team trailed 22-20 at halftime. "As long as you stay composed as you see we kind of were just able to put them away and this is a family, it's not one person that can do it it's a team sport."
Senior Carson Woods had 11 of his team-high 17 points in the first half for the Rams while teammate Cole Halverson had 10 points. Cole Plucinski added 5 points for the Bulldogs while Cordell Johnson had 4 points for Central.
"They're a really good team, hats off to them. We built a 9-point lead and they didn't flinch. They just kept playing their game and they outplayed us," said Grayslake Central coach Brian Centella. "Carlsen can get hot in a hurry and he did. And we didn't do a good enough job of getting out to him and contesting those 3-pointers."