North Chicago 57, Vernon Hills 37

So how do you save face against a team that has beaten you by a combined 91 points in two games?

You turn to a guy whose face took a beating this season for motivation.

You turn to a braces-wearing, first-year point guard.

Vernon Hills' boys basketball team didn't pull off what would have been a monster upset Friday night, but -- face it -- the eighth-seeded Cougars certainly made things interesting against top-seeded North Chicago.

The Warhawks defeated the Cougars for the third time this season, 57-37, in the teams' Class 3A regional final at Vernon Hills to earn a berth in the Antioch sectional.

North Chicago (23-4), which received a game-high 23 points from Keith Ford, will play No. 4 Senn on Tuesday night at Antioch.

Vernon Hills (13-15) trailed by as many as 22 points in the first half. But the Cougars, behind the red-hot shooting of junior guard Riaz Hoveydai and rebounding of senior center Kenny Rideout, got within 32-26 late in the third quarter.

"It was all about motivation," said Hoveydai, who led the Cougars with a season-high 21 points. "The seniors gave it their all. We really wanted another stab at North Chi. We just didn't want to end the season on a negative note, so we just came out and attacked as best as we could."

It wasn't a good first half for the Cougars, who not only spotted the Warhawks an 18-6 lead after one quarter but saw Rideout, their 6-foot-5 star, go down just before halftime.

An errant elbow caught Rideout in the nose, stopping the game.

"He had some 'internal stuff' coming out," Vernon Hills coach Matt McCarty said. "I don't know what it was, but there was goo coming out of his nose."

Rideout, mind you, is the same guy who lost a tooth in a game against Lakes this season.

"He's had a tooth knocked out, and he's had goo coming out of his nose," McCarty said. "But he bounced back and played real strong."

So did Rideout's teammates. Hoveydai didn't miss a shot in the second half, going 7 of 7, including 2 of 2 from beyond the arc.

"Coming off the sideline, coach was telling me, 'You got to attack. You got to slow the tempo of the game,' " Hoveydai said. "I had a lot of help from the wing guys -- (Chris) Morgan and DaVaris (Daniels) getting me the ball, setting the screens."

Hoveydai's second 3 of the third quarter pulled Vernon Hills within 32-26 with 2½ minutes left. But North Chicago parlayed a pair of steals into back-to-back baskets and closed the quarter by scoring the final six points.

Hoveydai and Morgan opened the fourth with back-to-back baskets. North Chicago then called a timeout, and finished the game with a 19-7 run.

"We needed that timeout," said North Chicago's Patrick Terrell, who had 9 points and 7 rebounds. "That timeout is what helped us. Our coach got on us a little bit. We got back in the game, did what we had to do, and put them away."

Kentrall Wilson added 18 points for North Chicago, which beat Vernon Hills 95-42 and 84-46 during the regular season.

While Hoveydai was Vernon Hills' only player to score in double figures, Rideout, who played the second half with his nostrils stuffed with cotton, finished with 11 rebounds and 5 points.

"I was real pleased after we talked at halftime about just settling down and trying to get more stuff going toward the basket," McCarty said. "Riaz had a real nice second half attacking the basket. Offensively, he got us back in the game."