Eichholz finds range vs. Geneva

By the time Eric Eichholz hit his third 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, Geneva knew the potency of its 2-1-2 zone defense had run dry.

The unique defense had the Lancers all but baffled until Eichholz began draining 3s at the end of Lake Park's 44-39 home win over the Vikings Saturday night in Roselle.

“Eichholz is a gunslinger,” said Lancers coach Josh Virostko. “He just wants to get out there and score. Late in the game when we need it, it's pretty valuable.”

Both teams were coming off games on Friday night, resulting in a low-scoring game Saturday that had to be grinded out.

“Both teams weren't prepared fully, and we had to fight through,” Virostko said.

In an effort to exploit any signs of sluggishness Geneva (4-4, 2-1) came out in a zone defense the Lancers weren't accustomed to seeing.

“We just couldn't get the zone to pay dividends at the end. It kind of wore on us,” said Geneva coach Phil Ralston. “(We) probably should have gone back to our base defense.”

Initially the Lancers (6-3) struggled mightily against the zone. Geneva senior Will Doeckel had a monster first quarter, scoring 10 of the Vikings' 12 points that period. Doeckel finished with 16 points.

Lake Park trailed the entire first half.

Lancers forward Dominique Spencer helped Lake Park take its first lead in the third quarter with hustle baskets and an ability to draw shooting fouls. He finished the game with 14 points.

The lead changed hands for most of the second half until Eichholz's long-range shooting finally gave the Lancers the separation they needed.

“Last night we played Bartlett and I had a big game. I felt more confident coming out here tonight,” Eichholz said.

Eichholz hit his final 3 while he was wide open in the corner. The bucket gave Lake Park a 4-point lead with less than two minutes to play.

“My teammates did a great job swinging the ball, and the back screens helped,” Eichholz said.

Geneva hung around in the final minutes as senior Dan Hince swished a 3-pointer to keep the game within grasp, but a tough third quarter when the Vikings only scored 6 points overshadowed their strong showing in the fourth.

“We're kind of in an offensive funk right now,” Ralston said.

Lake Park is off until it travels to play at Larkin next Saturday. Geneva returns to action at Plainfield North's tournament on Tuesday.