Lake Park keeps Waubonsie in check

Lake Park boys basketball coach Josh Virostko felt Thursday night's game against Waubonsie Valley might be a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair.

He didn't anticipate his team would hold the Warriors to just 7 first-half points.

Yet that's exactly what the Lancers did, grabbing a 21-7 halftime lead en route to a 46-35 victory in Roselle.

Lake Park (9-8, 3-2 Upstate Eight Conference) forced 11 Warrior turnovers in the second quarter alone and allowed Waubonsie Valley to convert just 3 of its 15 field-goal attempts in the opening half.

"We knew it was going to be somewhat ugly," Virostko said. "Not very many teams have scored a lot of points (against us).

"We've been able to hold teams down this year defensively, and I think that created our offense."

The 15 Lake Park takeaways allowed forward Dominique Spencer ample scoring opportunities, and the 6-foot-3 sophomore made sure to cash in. Spencer scored 12 of his team's 21 first-half points, knocking in 5 of the 6 shots he took.

Spencer provided a simple explanation for his hot start.

"Just running the floor," he said. "Coach is always telling me to run the floor, so that's what I was doing."

A Kyle Phelan 3-pointer midway through the third quarter pushed Lake Park's lead to 32-16. Waubonsie Valley pulled within 10 points at the outset of the fourth on a Tyler Edmundson free throw but could not break the double-digit barrier.

The Lancers failed to hit a 3-point shot in the first half but caught fire in the second, converting 5 of their 7 attempts from beyond the arc. Phelan kept the Warriors' defense honest, pouring in four 3s on his way to a 15-point performance.

"The defense got us the lead, and the 3s kept the lead," Virostko said. "When they hit, we probably let them shoot a little bit more, but generally we try to be inside-oriented."

Virsotko implored his team during halftime to continue stifling the Warriors' offensive attack, but Waubonsie Valley (5-13, 2-5) emerged from the break with a bit of a spark. Junior guard Jakobi Johnson scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the second-half, providing a rare bright spot for coach Steve Weemer.

"That's nice to see, but I'd like to see that for 32 minutes," Weemer said. "We haven't played for 32 minutes yet this year.

"We're not a very good basketball team right now, and they deserved to win. They outplayed us."