Grayslake North rolls past Wauconda

Where did Grayslake North find this Tony Hines kid anyway?

Maybe his teammate Ryan Connolly has an answer.

"He might have come up for the regional last year,'' Connolly said. "He was a freshman last year. Tony is a great defender. I'm looking forward to playing with him next year."

They say it's hard to beat a team three times in one season. Well, the Knights of Grayslake North made it four in a row over Wauconda as the season ended for the Bulldogs on Monday night at the Class 4A Grayslake North regional. Connolly dropped 30 points on Wauconda and Hines added 16 as the Knights rolled, 71-51.

"We had beaten them three times,'' Hines said. "We don't think anyone is too big for us."

This game started with a bang. The 6-foot-2. Connolly powered a dunk to open the festivities. Wauconda's Nick Bulgarelli gave his team its last lead of the season when he landed a 3-pointer.

Connolly led Wauconda himself a few times in the early going. The junior outscored Wauconda, 5-3 and 7-5. His final lead over the Bulldogs was 13-12 as the second quarter opened.

"If Ryan has a decent game against Waukegan,'' said North coach Todd Grunloh, "he will have 700 points this year. We ask him to do most anything for us."

The 14th-seeded Knights (17-12) take on No. 2 seed Waukegan Wednesday at 6 p.m.

On back-to-back scores from Connolly, the Knights' lead hit double figures late in the first half.

Grunloh wasn't about to let overconfidence run amok on his club.

"Wauconda beat North Chicago,'' he said. "They lost to Grant by a few points. We seem to match up well with them. We did a nice job getting that lead."

Wauconda (15-15) came out in the second half and cut into the Knights' lead. On a drive by Donovan Carter (9 points), the Bulldogs were within 12 at 46-34.

Hines had 5 points in a row in the fourth quarter.

The high-scoring Connolly pointed to the other side of the ball.

"Over the second half of the year, our defense has turned it up," the junior said.

Bulgarelli led Wauconda with 14 points. North's point guard, Jamon Thomas matched those 14 points.