Lake County boys basketball notes: Wauconda heads into postseason with momentum
The Wauconda boys basketball team has some serious momentum on its side heading into the Class 3A postseason next week.
The Bulldogs capped off their Northern Lake County Conference championship season with a 94-76 win over North Chicago Tuesday that moved them to 24-7 overall. Wauconda had 5 players score in double figures: Leo Brinias (21 points), Austin Carlsen (18 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists), Alex Ortega (17 points), Tony Selemi (16 points) and Cole Pluckinski (13 points).
Wauconda finished 13-1 in conference play and now turns its attention to this coming Wednesday’s Class 3A regional it is hosting. The Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed in the Deerfield sectional and open against No. 14 Chicago CICS/Northtown. The winner faces either No. 5 Vernon Hills or No. 11 Chicago Amundsen for the regional title Friday, Feb. 27.
All 7 Lake County-area Class 3A teams feed into the Deerfield sectional.
Vernon Hills is now 21-9 after a 50-40 Central Suburban crossover win against Maine South. The Cougars finished second in the CSL North at 8-2 and have now won 3 in a row, including a pair of back-to-back overtime games.
“We have been playing well,” Cougars coach Matt McCarty said. “We open with Chicago Amundsen. They are a big team that has played a tough schedule. We are looking forward to competing against them.”
Jeremy Zamost (14.9 points), Brady Larsen (13.8 points) and Daniel Odhiambo (8.2 points) lead the way offensively. Zamost and Larsen were all-CSL North selections, while Odhiambo earned all-CSL North second-team honors.
McCarty had high praise for Zamost and Larsen’s season-long efforts. “Jeremy and Brady never miss anything,” he said. “They play through injuries and illnesses during the course of a long season. They are always dependable, and they complement each other on the court. They have been good leaders for our program and they are always coachable.”
Grayslake Central, the NLCC runner-up, is the No. 4 sectional seed and opens play Wednesday in the Lake Forest regional against No. 13 Chicago Northside. The winner faces either No. 7 Lake Forest or No. 12 Antioch for the regional title next Friday.
Antioch (5-23 to start the week) has been led by senior Mark Render (14 points, 33% from 3, 79% from the foul line) and Logan Lennon (4 rebounds per game).
“We are in a favorable regional compared to others in our sectional and we hope our young roster will use the 28 games of varsity experience they have and apply what they have learned on the floor,” Antioch coach Sean Connor said.
Connor noted senior Chance Parsons worked his way into the starting lineup at the winter break and has been the Sequoits’ leading scorer, rebounder and assists man during the second half of the season (11.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2 assists and 36% from 3).
Connor added senior Zach Kavich has been a warrior off the bench, providing energy on defense, hustle all over the floor and has excelled at guarding players bigger than him. “And he plays unselfish on offense,” he noted.
Lakes (16-11 to start the week) is the No. 6 seed in the Deerfield sectional and heads to Arlington Heights for the St. Viator regional. The Eagles face No. 9 North Chicago on Wednesday and would play either No. 1 sectional seed and host St. Viator, No. 17 Chicago Senn or No. 16 Chicago Disney II next Friday for the regional title.
The Eagles are 11-4 since Jan. 1. “We are excited for the postseason,” Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “We feel we are starting to play our best ball and that is what you want to have happen. We are in a sectional with so many great teams and coaches, so we will need to be ready to go.”
Dorian Pullen set a Lakes single-season record for most assists (7 per game, currently sitting at 178 to start the week).
“Dorian has been our engine all season,” Snyder said. “He might not score as much as others, but he set our assists record and is a true, selfless point guard. Without him, we don’t see the success we’ve had.”
Aidan Hopkins is averaging 6 rebounds per game. “Aidan is a true senior leader,” Snyder added. “He has done all the little things for us and is our defensive stopper. He set single-season and career marks for tips/deflections and leads us in rebounding. He’s been super consistent.”
Ben Newcomb and Carter Martin each average 15 points per game for Lakes. Martin set the school single-season mark for most 3s made, sitting at 65 to start the week.
Carmel Catholic is the No. 8 seed in the sectional and hosts its own regional. The Corsairs face No. 10 Grayslake North on Wednesday with the winner getting No. 2 Deerfield or No. 15 Chicago Roosevelt for the regional title 2 days later.
“We are excited to play Carmel,” North coach Josh Feinzimer said. “We think it is a fair matchup and the game will go to the team that plays better that night. Even though we struggled in the second half of the season, we are a young team (starts 3 sophomores) with talent and we still believe we can match up with most anyone on a given night.”
North (10-18) is led by 4-year varsity starter Uros Mitrovic, who averages 15 points and 5.5 rebounds. Mitrovic has more than 1,400 career points, more than 600 rebounds and more than 250 career assists, while also holding the school record for career 3-pointers made. “He is one of the best leaders I have ever been around,” Feinzimer said.
Sophomore Jared Van Donselaar averages 13 points and 6.5 rebounds. “Jared brings it every night,” Feinzimer said. “I’d assume he is considered one of the best sophomores in Lake County.”
Rees Jorden leads the team in rebounding at 8.5 per game and to start the week was 9 rebounds shy from breaking the Knights’ single-season mark (246). “Rees is such a high-energy guy and without him we would struggle to match any team’s physicality.”
At Fremd
Stevenson and Lake Zurich are part of the Class 4A Fremd sectional. The Patriots are the No. 4 seed and open play Wednesday in the Hoffman Estates regional against No. 13 Conant. The winner gets either the No. 5 seed host Hawks or No. 12 Buffalo Grove in the regional final next Friday.
“It should be a very competitive regional with 3 MSL teams,” Stevenson coach Will Benson said. “Hoffman Estates having 27 wins and 3 losses will be a tough out at their home gym.”
Stevenson (19-9 to start the week) is led by Donny Williams (18.9 points, 3 assists, 2 steals), Rocco Pagliocca (16.8 points), Aidan Albrecht (6.3 rebounds) and Quinton Frakes (6.1 rebounds).
“Quinton Frakes has been consistent/rock solid all year and has played especially well the second half of the year,” Benson said.
Lake Zurich (13-14) is the No. 9 seed and faces regional host and No. 8 seed Schaumburg on Wednesday with the winner getting No. 1 Fremd, No. 17 Wheeling or No. 16 Elgin Larkin in the title game next Friday.
“We have a very tough road ahead in the regional, but it’s a challenge we are looking forward to taking on,” Lake Zurich coach Terry Coughlin said. “We open with Schaumburg on the road and they are a very good and well-coached team. We will have to play very well to put ourselves in a position to win the game and advance.”
The Bears started the week having won 5 of their last 6 and are led by the likes of Kain Kretschmar (13 points, 5 rebounds), Adrian Riep (11 points, 5 rebounds), Tyler Reed (7 points, 4 rebounds) and Evan Peterson (6 points, 3 assists).
“Kain and Adrian have obviously been consistent the entire season and have led us in scoring and rebounding,” Coughlin noted. “Tyler Reed has had a very nice year and is a do-everything kind of guy.”
Coughlin noted Lake Zurich’s best lineups by VPS (value point system that measures a player’s total on-court efficiency beyond traditional points/rebounds/assists) all have Reed in the lineup. VPS assigns a numerical value, typically with 1.0 being average and 2.0-plus being elite, by dividing positive actions (points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks by negative actions (misses, turnovers, fouls).
Coughlin pointed out Peterson missed the first half of the season due to a football injury, however since his return the Bears are well above .500. “His leadership at the point guard position has been invaluable,” he said.
At Rockton Hononegah
The remaining 4 Lake County teams are part of the Class 4A Rockton Hononegah sectional north of Rockford.
Warren Township is the No. 1 sectional seed and will host a regional. The Blue Devils await the winner of Monday’s Zion (No. 9 seed) and Round Lake (No. 8 seed) quarterfinal contest. If Warren wins that game on Wednesday it will face either No. 4 seed Libertyville or No. 6 seed Grant for the regional title next Friday.
The North Suburban Conference-champion Blue Devils started the week 27-2 (13-0 in NSC action) and had won 9 games in a row.
“It’s one game at a time,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said.
Jaxson Davis leads the county in scoring at 24.7 points per game, while adding 5.3 assists. Braylon Walker averages 13.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Ryan also lauded the play of Javin Griffin who is shooting a robust 48% from 3. “Javin is a consistent role player,” he said.
Grant (13-11) started the week having won 5 of its last 6 and 7 of its last 9 and had a chance this week to hit 10 Northern Lake County Conference wins.
“We are excited to get going and compete in the state tournament,” Grant coach Wayne Bosworth said.
Damarrion Smith (13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists), Charles Schlicht (12.6 points, 5 rebounds) and DJ Stitts (12.3 points, 4 rebounds, 2.7 assists) all score in double digits, while Bosworth pointed out Noah McMath and Jayden Smith also have been key players all season.
“We were a different team with Noah on the court this year and have only lost 1 conference game with him in the lineup,” he said. “Jayden has led us in rebounding all year and was key to have that presence in the lane and around the basket all season.”
Round Lake started the week 12-15 overall. “We are matched up with a tough Zion-Benton team for the play-in game,” Panthers coach Jack Hansa said. “We would like to take things one game at a time and try to win against the opponent in front of us.”
Jaquan Jamrson (18 points, 6 rebounds) and Devin Powell (5 assists, 4 steals) have been important all season for the Panthers, but Hansa noted contributions have come from up and down the roster. “It’s been a team effort all-around,” he said. “We currently have half our roster injured and guys 1-15 have been in the rotation at some point this season due to injuries. I’m really proud of my guys for all stepping up such as Lewis McGregor, Tony Thomson, Josh Ocuna and Isaiah Urbina.”
Mundelein is the No. 7 sectional seed and heads to the HD Jacobs regional in Algonquin where it will square off against No. 2 sectional seed Waukegan in the semifinals on Wednesday. The winner plays either No. 3 McHenry or No. 5 Jacobs for the regional title next Friday.
The Mustangs were 6-22 through their first 28 games. Junior Carson Koenigsknecht hit a career-high 4 threes in a recent game, while junior Miller Rastrelli has come off the bench and given the team a spark, assistant coach Matt Bellito noted.
“We have been working to get better and have our young team gain experience that should help us in the future,” Bellito said.