Shorthanded RL yields 114
Brown was working. Green was working.
But what Round Lake's boys basketball team needed was more gold -- those bright gold high tops of Vernon Randolph.
If the visiting Panthers were somehow going to come up with a masterpiece to stun high-flying North Chicago in front of the Warhawks' enthusiastic fans Saturday night, they needed everything to mix perfectly.
That didn't happen.
Despite a game-best 26 points from Jerome Brown and a season-high 14 from Eric Green, Round Lake lost to North Chicago for the second time in five nights, 114-71.
North Chicago -- which was led by Steven Conner's 25 points, Dentri Henning's 23 and Patrick Terrell's 21 -- improved to 14-2 overall and 6-0 in the North Suburban Prairie Division. The Warhawks remain a game ahead of Lakes and will play the Eagles in Lake Villa on Friday night.
"They got skills," Green said of the Warhawks. "They're a good team."
Round Lake (4-13, 2-5) played the second half without Randolph, who was pulled from the game in the second quarter.
Panthers coach Jeremy Fisher said Randolph, who watched the second half from the bench, was not hurt.
"I really don't want to talk about Vernon tonight," Fisher said. "All I want to say is that I'm proud of the way Jerome Brown played and I'm proud of the way Eric Green played. They did the best they could to keep us in this game. They played hard and they did an outstanding job."
Randolph finished with 9 points. The Warren transfer became eligible just before Christmas and averaged 24.4 points in his first seven games.
His 6 points and Brown's 9 helped keep Round Lake within 24-20 after one quarter. The Panthers trailed 51-35 at halftime.
With Randolph sitting the entire second half, the 5-foot-5 Green, whose main job is to distribute the ball and run the offense, looked to score. He responded by hitting four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers.
"Some of our scorers weren't out there obviously and Eric had to step up," said Fisher, who had only eight players available. Among the sidelined Panthers was Javier Martinez, who was sick.
Round Lake also got 11 points from backup David Windham, who attended North Chicago his freshman year two years ago.
North Chicago extended its lead to 80-50 after three quarters and then put up 34 points in the final quarter, as Henning splashed five of his six 3-pointers.
The Warhawks sank 14 3s, in total, with Conner adding four. Kentrall Wilson and Chris Bryant each scored 10 points.
"They're a phenomenal team," Fisher said. "They get the ball up and down really well and they definitely got a lot of talent out there."
"This is the first time we've been in this type of up-tempo game, with the loudness and everything, all season," Green said. "It was kind of chaotic."