Lange, Round Lake surprise Rolling Meadows

Round Lake boys basketball coach Jim Roberts was quick to point out what the differences were in the Panthers' 60-45 win over Rolling Meadows at Fremd on Monday night in Class 4A boys basketball regional play.

"Nick Lange got us off to the good start," said Roberts. "He scored 6 of our first 9 points when we led 9-0. Secondly we had some real good hard practices the last few days. I don't think there was another No. 22 seed that practiced harder."

"I came out tonight and played with a lot of heart. I wanted to make sure we could win a game in the tournament," said Lange. "To beat Fremd on their home court (Wednesday) we have to come out with a lot of intensity."

The Panthers (7-20) never trailed the Mustangs (14-13).

Round Lake shot 21 of 35 from the field for 60 percent

"That's about 10 points higher than we normally do," said Roberts.

Lange scored 17 points, pulled down 8 rebounds, blocked a shot and had an early fourth-quarter steal when the Mustangs were making their final run.

"Nick played like we thought he could play all year," said Roberts. "He's a senior and he knew this could be his last game. I think he did a really good job on (Paul) Volkman. I know Volkman may have played against bigger players in the MSL but Lange really made him earn his points."

The Mustangs, who beat Round Lake 50-44 two weeks, ago were without star guard Brian Nelms (mono) and starting forward Scott Shewmon (school policy violation).

"I'm proud of our players," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "People have no idea how much adversity these players had to go through this year. They still did a lot of good things and finished third in the conference.

"Round Lake came out with a lot of energy and their athleticism hurt us."

Trailing 30-19 at halftime, Meadows went on a 5-0 run on a 3-pointer by Tyler Gaedele (19 points) and Volkman (12 points, 8 rebounds) to start the second half.

Two 3s by Daniel Uriostegui (10 points, 6 rebounds) and a basket by Lange put the score at 38-24.

The Mustangs countered with a 9-0 run, but a free throw by Lange and a basket on a turnover by Teandre Brown (18 points) gave the Panthers a 41-33 lead after three quarters.

Meadows pulled as close as 50-43 with 2:45 left but was outscored 10-2 down the stretch.