Lake County all-stars are all winners
They had fun, and they won.
Playing in the inaugural Lake County Senior Shootout at the College of Lake County before an estimated crowd of 750 basketball fans Friday night, the East boys traded jerseys with their teammates at halftime and changed the outcome of the game.
Led by game MVP Marin Kukoc of Highland Park, the East rallied for an exciting, 78-77 win, as it overcame a 44-32 halftime deficit.
In the first half, the East players wore their white school jerseys backward.
That idea, like the one to swap jerseys with a teammate for the second half, came from coach Clarence Springs.
"We just came out to play and have fun," said Kukoc, who led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
Wearing the No. 42 jersey of Lake Forest's Josh Bruns, Kukoc scored the go-ahead basket on a putback with nine seconds left.
The West's Craig Burton (Warren) fed Libertyville's Billy Meyer on the wing in the closing seconds, but Meyer's shot for the win was just off-target.
"It was a great look," Meyer said. "It just didn't fall. He made a good pass. But I was kind of falling. I thought he was going to take the shot so I was going to run (toward the basket) to see if it was going to go in."
Meyer led the West with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Warren's Shahron Thomas also had 18 points (three 3-pointers) for the West.
Grayslake Central's Cameron Nelson (8 points) hit an off-balance, 16-foot bank shot on the baseline to put the West up 44-32 at half.
The East also got double-digit points from Waukegan's Mike Springs (15), North Chicago's Michael Simpson (11) and Lakes' John Androus (10).
The pass of the night belonged to Simpson, who grabbed a Springs outlet pass and fed a no-look, between-the-legs dish to a streaking Chris Morgan of Vernon Hills. Morgan finished the layup.
The West had a blast too.
"Win or lose, it was a great experience to play with these guys," Meyer said. "It was a lot of fun."
In the girls game, MVP Gabby Chapa of Lake Zurich led the West to a 61-54 win.