Rally gives Meadows title shot at Fenton
Scoring when it counts?
Not easily done, but Rolling Meadows boys basketball put on a clinic in it Wednesday night.
The Mustangs' offense came out of an early slumber and their defense controlled the second half to give them a 60-57 victory over Glenbrook South at the 22nd annual Chuck Mitchell Thanksgiving Tournament at Fenton.
With the win, Rolling Meadows (3-0) punched its ticket to the title game at 7:15 p.m. Friday against Naperville Central.
A number of contributors sparked the Mustangs' offense, which produced 14 points in the second quarter to give them a 25-23 lead at the half. Senior guard Kyle Gaedele was the their leading scorer with 21 points.
"The second half we really stepped up on both sides of the ball," said Gaedele. "Glenbrook was getting a lot of points on us and we knew we had to pick it up to have a chance to win."
Another senior, forward Ben Sabal, followed up his 18-point game on Tuesday with 14 points against the Titans.
Trailing 42-36 going into the fourth quarter, the Mustangs needed a great offensive performance to keep them in it and that's just what they got. With five minutes remaining senior Kevin Serna hit a 3-pointer which tied the game at 43-43. Soon after a turnover Sabal was fouled, and he made both free throws to give Meadows a 45-43 lead.
"Out guys really hung in there tonight," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "We have an experienced group of guys and they're great at being in these tight situations."
Glenbrook South was led by junior Jack Cooley with a game-high 22 points, 10 in the fourth quarter.
Meadows has advanced to the title game in Fenton's tournament three times (1995, '97, and 2004) but has never won.
"We don't want to be the bridesmaid at this tournament anymore," said Katovich. "We came here to win and that's our main goal."
Lake Park 37, Elk Grove 36: Lake Park squeezed out a victory with a last-second shot by Jason Sotira.
The Lancers were at it again on Wednesday night against Elk Grove, but this time it was the defense that came to the rescue.
Elk Grove trailed by 1 with 20 seconds remaining and milked the clock down to four seconds before Chris Hayworth missed a potential game winning shot with Lake Park's 5-foot-10 guard Patrick Powers securing the rebound to give the Lancers a 37-36 victory.
Lake Park (2-1) used a 10-0 run to start the second quarter, taking a 14-4 advantage.
Senior center George Manos scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the opening half, leading Lake Park to a 21-10 halftime advantage.
But Elk Grove (0-3) picked up the pace in the third quarter with junior Matt Martinski scoring 7 of his game-high 16 points as the Grenadiers narrowed the deficit to 33-27.
"We're an inside-out team and he (Martinski) needs to get his touches," added first-year Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman. "It's going to make our guards better, it will give us better rebounding opportunities, and give us more confidence on defense."
Elk Grove used an 8-2 run capped by an inside basket by Martinski to open the final quarter and tie the score at 35-35 with 2:20 remaining.
But Manos tipped in a miss with 1:50 left to give the Lancers a 37-35 lead. They never again trailed despite 4 fourth-quarter turnovers.
"We knew they were going to come out hard after the half," said Manos. "We just wanted to make sure we got the rebounds."
Trent Patterson (9 points) and Danny Baylis (8 points) both contributed to the Lancers' attack.
Billy Hubly added 7 points for an Elk Grove team that seemed to find its rhythm in the second half.
"We need to put four quarters together," said Furman, who despite the outcome was pleased with his team's poise in the final moments. "I felt comfortable that the kids knew what they needed to do."
-- Michael Eaken