New approach, familiar result as Lake Forest tops Lake Zurich

Something new, something ol'.

The new for Lake Zurich's boys basketball team?

For the time this season, the Bears played up-tempo when they took on host Lake Forest on Saturday night.

"We worked on it all week, trying to get the ball up and down the floor," coach John Zarr said. "We're not going to worry about the shooting anymore. We're just going to try to get it up and down, and try to get some cheap baskets."

The result?

Same ol', same ol'.

Despite Mike Boyd's season- and game-high 20 points, Lake Zurich lost again, this time 63-40 to a Scouts team that needed to avoid an upset in order to maintain sole possession of first place in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division.

"It shocked us a little bit," Scouts coach Phil LaScala said of the Bears' decision to push the ball. "We had to sprint back. We're used to playing that (style) because Mundelein and Libertyville are very up-tempo and we prepare for them a lot. So our guys right away understood that they were going to get it jammed down their throat and they couldn't celebrate making a hoop."

Lake Zurich's new attack style ultimately couldn't make a difference, however. The defeat dropped the Bears to 1-19 overall and 0-9 in the division.

"I like (playing up-tempo) a lot, but we need to get back on defense, hit the boards harder and just play as a team," Boyd said. "Tough loss.

"(The pace) was a lot of fun, but I want to get the win."

When the teams met on Dec. 17, Lake Zurich nearly did just that, falling 43-41 on its home court. That made the rematch intriguing, especially since the Bears are playing the spoiler role these days while Lake Forest (12-8, 7-2) finds itself in a hotly contested NSC Lake race with Zion-Benton (6-3), Stevenson (7-3) and suddenly Warren (5-4), as well.

"We didn't really talk about the (score of the first game)," LaScala said. "We just reminded them how tough of a game it was. It was a war. Our kids knew we were in for a very physical game. (Lake Zurich) has some real strong kids."

Lake Forest came out strong, building a 20-7 lead after one quarter and never letting up. Ahead 29-18 coming out of halftime, the Scouts blew the game open in the third by outscoring the visitors 17-4.

"We spent a lot of time during the week working on our shooting, and perhaps we took a little bit too much time away from our defense," Zarr said. "Defensively, I thought we had some breakdowns early on in that first quarter that really hurt us. They shoot the ball well. We don't."

Sharpshooting Mitch Hopfinger led the way for Lake Forest in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his team-best 18 points, including consecutive three-point plays. The senior guard also grabbed 7 rebounds on the night.

Lake Forest sophomore Thomas Durrett sank two 3-pointers in the first quarter and scored 9 of his 12 points. Center Josh Bruns and reserve guard Luke Streppa added 9 points apiece for the Scouts.

Boyd was the one bright spot for Lake Zurich, scoring half of the Bears' points. The 6-foot junior drained four 3-pointers and another jumper with a foot on the three-point arc.

"I think the tempo that we played tonight really was conducive to Mike Boyd, and I thought that showed," Zarr said. "I thought Mike probably played one of his better games."

No other Lake Zurich player scored more than 6 points, however.

"I think it was more of a team effort that last game (against Lake Forest)," Boyd said. "We were clicking on all cylinders, and this game a couple of people were off. We don't have a Lenzelle Smith (of Zion-Benton) or anybody. We just play together."