Grayslake North turns away Grant

In what has been a history-making season for Grayslake North's boys basketball team, the Knights have notched some notable achievements in their 10th year as a program. Among them:

• A record-setting 12 game win streak to open the season

• A school-record 24-win regular season

But the one thing missing from that list - a championship.

The Knights, who were runners-up in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division this year and who were felled in a regional title by eventual Class 4A Elite Eight qualifier Lake Park a season ago, will get an another opportunity to correct that omission Friday night.

Thanks to game-high performances from 5-foot-10 junior guard Jamal Thomas (21 points, 5 steals, 4 assists) and 6-5 senior center Aidan Einloth (18 points, 7 rebounds), the Fremd sectional's No. 5 seed held off a furious fourth-quarter rally from No. 12 seed Grant to beat the Bulldogs 59-52 in a regional semifinal at Schaumburg Wednesday night.

The Knights will face 15th-seeded Hoffman Estates (12-17), a 52-48 overtime upset winner over No. 4 seed St. Viator (17-8) in Wednesday's opening game, for the regional crown on the Saxons' home floor Friday evening.

"We got tight at the end," Knights coach Todd Grunloh said. "It seemed like we were hoping that the game would end, rather than continuing to play in the way we got a 20-point lead late in the third. It wasn't a surprise that Grant came back. You've got to give them all the credit in the world. They could've easily packed up the tent."

Grayslake North led 45-25 advantage after a 3-point play by sophomore forward James Connolly at the 2:47 mark of period 3. The Knights (25-3) used a 16-4 spurt to get there; the run included Thomas' third trey and a succeeding steal and layup followed by all 7 of Connolly's points.

Then the Bulldogs (14-16) began their climb almost all the way back.

After entering the final stanza down 48-32, Grant would embark on a 20-5 run to pull within one (53-52) on a driving layup by 6-foot- senior reserve James Mobley (10 points) with 1:17 left.

It is there that the Knights' dynamic duo would save the game and the season when Thomas fed Einloth inside, making it 55-52 with 24 seconds left. After a Logan Lewis 3-point attempt ckanked off the rim, four consecutive makes at the foul line by Einloth and reserve forward Tyler Elias (8 points) in the waning seconds settled things.

"It's always hard to play a team twice in one year. Especially having played them two weeks ago," said Einloth, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology commit, in reference to an 88-76 nonconfererence road win at Grant on Feb. 16. "They get fresh film and a good chance to really know you."

Grant coach Wayne Bosworth was proud of how his squad fought back.

"From James (Mobley) with his leadership, to the consistency that John Kerr (team-high 16 points, 14 rebounds) showed, to the big shots that Kyle DuPree made, it was a testament to our team's character," Bosworth said. "The bright side to this is that we started five juniors out there and they'll all be back for us next year as we, along with Grayslake North, move into our new conference."

For the Knights, it is as Einloth stated, an opportunity to make history and capture the program's first-ever championship.

"I think it's great," he said. "We now have a chance with every win from here on out to make history. It's something that we've talked about from day one back in the fall and on Friday we get a chance."