Kohler, Lakes turn it on

A Kohler sprung a large leak.

"Jake (Kohler)," Lakes guard Andrew Spencer said laughing as he walked out of the Eagles' locker room at Carmel, "splashes into the water cooler."

The trainer's table, atop of which a Gatorade jug sat, toppled over as a result of Kohler's run-in with it. Paper cups went flying. Water spilled all over the gym floor behind Chicago Lake View's bench, necessitating mops to clean up the mess.

And Jake Kohler yes, Andrew Spencer made a splash with his hustle play late in the opening quarter of third-seeded Lakes' 65-23 win over No. 13 Chicago Lake View in a Class 3A regional semifinal in Mundelein on Tuesday night.

"I definitely heard it," Lakes coach Chris Snyder said of Kohler's collision.

Kohler saved the basketball from going out of bounds and emerged unscathed.

"I was hustling after (the ball), and I flipped it over my head to save it," Kohler said. "I couldn't see where it was going. Then I was losing my balance, and the one thing that was in front of me was the Gatorade (jug). So I grabbed onto it. I was coming down, and it was either coming down with me or it was staying there."

Kohler, taking advantage of a rare start, finished with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. The 6-foot-3 junior was one of three players to score in double figures for Lakes (18-10), which earned a berth in Friday's 7:30 p.m. regional final against the winner of tonight's game between No. 6 Carmel and No. 11 Chicago Uplift.

Tanner Blain led the Eagles with a game-high 14 points (two 3s), and Direll Clark added 11. Spencer (5 steals) and Justin Bergeron each scored 6 points coming off the bench.

Lakes has never won a regional championship in its seven-year history. The Eagles have lost in regional finals to Mundelein (2007), Guerin (2008), Grayslake Central (2009), Johnsburg (2010) and Ridgewood (2011).

"We're hoping this is the big year that we're actually going to push through the wall and win our first regional," Kohler said.

"We're looking to see if we can get over that hump," Snyder said. "But it'll be tough, because Carmel and Uplift are pretty solid teams."

Lakes looked solid against Lake View. Jay-Jay Elvir's steal and dish to a sprinting Clark, who finished the layup, got the Eagles going. The duo hooked up on an identical play 14 seconds later, and the Eagles were up 15-2 after one quarter.

The only scare for Lakes took place at the end of the first half, when center Justin Schneider came down awkward on his right ankle and limped to the locker room.

"A little ankle sprain," Snyder said. "Nothing too serious."

Schneider spent the first few minutes of the second half still in the locker room getting his ankle treated by the trainer.

He hobbled back to Lakes' bench midway through the third quarter and played a couple of minutes before taking the rest of the game off.

"I just came down on someone's foot and rolled it," said Schneider, who scored 7 points. "I'm all right. I'll be fine Friday.

"Got to make history."