Carter, Round Lake shoot into victory zone

Juddon Carter found a most effective way to light up the scoreboard on Friday night: Simply fire shot after shot from 3-point range.

He dropped in a career-high 6 treys and finished with a game-high 27 points for Round Lake's boys basketball team in a 66-40 victory over visiting Wauconda in a North Suburban Prairie Division opener.

"We were able to prepare very well for this game," said Carter who finished 10-for-13 from the field.

"We caught on fire, and the team kept on feeding me. Every chance I got, I let (the ball) go.

"It's like getting into a zone, The team feeds off of it, and they were able to get me the ball.'

Round Lake (2-4) broke a four-game losing streak with its victory and handed new coach Jim Roberts his first home victory. Wauconda (0-5, 0-1) lost its fifth straight.

"When you're dealing with high school kids," said Roberts, "there's always the first home game where they're always excited with people in the stands, and you're not sure how they will react. There's that little aspect, and I was a little concerned how they would respond."

Not to worry. Round Lake led 10-6 after the first quarter. The Panthers got hot in the second quarter with a 16-6 run as Carter hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute for a 26-12 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Carter came out firing and made a couple more 3-pointers, and Mark Jennings (12 points) added a couple baskets. The Panthers used a 15-7 run and extended the lead to 41-19 with just under three minutes left in the third.

"It's a learning experience to play against a zone," Roberts said. "We've got to understand the first shot is not always the best one, and be patient. We got to move the ball and we had a lot more inside touches and got some inside-outside threes.

"We have to keep learning, because the preparation process is so important for these guys to focus."

Wauconda had a tough time getting back into the game partly due to turnovers the Bulldogs committed 28. Kyle Ryan led the Wauconda with 9 points and Matt Mead added 6 off the bench.

"You're not going to win to many games with that many turnovers, or be in many games," Wauconda coach Scott Luetschwager said.