Grayslake N. edges Wauconda

Grayslake North basketball coach Todd Grunloh laughs when recalling his decision last winter to send then-freshman A.J. Fish down to the sophomore team after giving the point guard a varsity roster spot to open the season.

Grunloh figured there was no sense having Fish go up against senior star Matt Pucher in practice everyday and then maybe play only a few minutes in varsity games, when Fish could instead be playing 32 minutes every sophomore contest.

“The first game he was out, Pucher got 3 fouls in the first quarter,” Grunloh said. “I’m like, ‘I look like an idiot because now our backup point guard is playing with the sophomores.’ ”

After Fish helped key Grayslake North’s season-opening, 50-45 win over Wauconda in Richmond on Tuesday night, in the Richmond-Burton/Johnsburg tournament, Grunloh looks like a genius for recognizing Fish’s talent.

Senior guard Teddy Ludwick, Grayslake North’s only returning stater, led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. Fish added 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals.

“It felt like 20 (points),” Grunloh said, “because those were huge points.”

Wauconda, which erased a 12-0 deficit and pulled even at 22-22 by halftime, led 33-28 when the Bulldogs were called for an intentional foul with 1:18 left in the third quarter. Fish sank both foul tosses his first points of the night.

“After the intentional foul, I felt our team got a spark,” Fish said.

Fish went on a personal five-point run, which included his only 3-pointer, to put the Knights up 34-33. But Wauconda’s Kyle Ryan sank a 3 in the closing seconds.

Ryan, a junior guard and returning starter, led Wauconda with 19 points, 10 coming in the third. His buzzer-beating 3 to end the first quarter got Wauconda within 14-10.

“He definitely likes those buzzer-beaters,” Wauconda coach Scott Luetschwager said. “He had a couple last year. It’s just one of things. When the pressure’s on, he steps up. I definitely expect more things out of him.”

A baseline bucket by Fish started the fourth, tying the score at 36-36. He later drove and scooped in a shot. By the time Wauconda finally scored in the fourth, on a putback by Michael Lovelle with 3:05 to go, the Bulldogs trailed 43-38.

“We stopped penetrating,” Luetschwager said. “We just started passing the ball too much, instead of attacking the hoop. (Grayslake North) took advantage of it.”

Considering it was his team’s first game, Grunloh figured the Knights would have trouble solving Wauconda’s matchup zone.

“Until A.J. started doing it in the third quarter, we never got where we needed to be (on the court),” Grunloh said. “I think we kept thinking that we could just run, run, run and never have to run an offense. It was obvious once (Wauconda) started controlling the tempo that we had no half-court offense.”

Ludwick, who sat the first half of the fourth after picking up his fourth foul late in the third, sank 5 of 6 free throws in the final 3:25.

“How huge were the minutes without Teddy?” said Grunloh, who saw Patrick Delamar grab 3 of his 9 rebounds in the fourth.

How huge were Fish’s minutes? He sat a good chunk of the first half with 2 fouls.

“He came up big for not playing much in the first half and being a sophomore,” Grunloh said.

Grunloh wasn’t surprised by Fish’s poise. He saw it in the Knights’ regional final against North Chicago last season, and then watched Fish quarterback the varsity football team.

“I was happier than anyone when I found out he was going to be starting quarterback,” Grunloh said. “If you can play like (he did) freshman year against North Chicago and then be starting quarterback as a sophomore, you’ve been through everything. There’s not much that rattles him.”

Credit all that varsity experience Fish has already had.

“You’re just not as nervous,” said Fish, who turned 16 in October. “You feel like you can do more and not be as scared. It helps.”

Harlem 79, Grant 60: At Johnsburg, the Bulldogs lost their season opener, despite 19 points from Jared Helmich.

Allen Lewis and Kyle Lombardino each had 11 for Grant.