Stevenson fights back to down Mundelein
As Stevenson broke the huddle to start the fourth quarter of its North Suburban Conference Lake contest trailing 49-39 against visiting Mundelein, senior Nate Johnson pulled his teammates together one last time for a small pep talk.
"I just told them to keep their heads up and to protect our home court," Johnson said. "I also said to just go out and play the way we are capable and leave everything we had on the court."
Johnson took some of his own advice to heart.
Trailing most of the second half, Johnson blocked a shot from Mundelein's Ben Brust and burst down the court. His high-flying two-handed slam dunk brought the near packed house crowd to its feet. It also gave the Patriots the lead for good.
Stevenson went on to outscore Mundelein 25-14 in the final quarter and fought off a desperation 3-point attempt from Brust at the buzzer to hang on in a 64-63 thriller.
"That was the ultimate team win," said Johnson, who led Stevenson with 15 points. "Everyone contributed to getting this one done tonight."
The host Patriots remain in the thick of a wild NSC Lake division race with a 7-3 conference mark and 14-6 overall record. The fourth straight loss for Mundelein dropped the Mustangs to 15-11 overall; it was the eighth time the Mustangs have lost a game that was decided by 3 points or less this season.
"I think mentally this is starting to wear on us some," said junior Ryan Sawvell, who tied with Robert Knar for game-high honors with 18 points. "But it also is no excuse. We need to do whatever it takes to get a win."
Sawvell was a big part in helping the Mustangs take control of the game in the third quarter. The 6-8 Sawvell scored 11 of his 18 points in the period as Mundelein opened up a 49-39 after three quarters. Mundelein needed all Sawvell had, because the Stevenson defense shutdown the Iowa-bound Brust holding him to a season-low 9 points.
"The tempo was the way we wanted it in the third quarter and we were able to get some things to go for us on offense and turn them over on defense," Mundelein coach Dick Knar said. "In the fourth quarter (Stevenson) slowed it down some and got the tempo they wanted."
Stevenson opened the fourth quarter on fire, rattling off 17 of the first 19 points of the period and holding Mundelein to just 2 free throws over that stretch. Johnson's dunk with 3:57 left gave the Patriots a 52-51 lead, their first of the half. They never trailed again.
"We got stops, we made some big time plays on defense and that got us going," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said.
Kevin Earl (14 points) and Michael Fleming (11 points) hit double figures for Stevenson. Leavon Head added 10 points for Mundelein.