Sawvell has big hand in Mundelein's win
All week in Mundelein boys basketball practice this week it was him vs. the rim.
Him - Ryan Sawvell - won.
By continuously dunking on it in preparation for the Mustangs' game against rival Libertyville, Sawvell broke a rim in Mundelein's gym that he claims had been broken for a while.
He paid a price, mind you.
"I messed up my hand," said the 6-foot-8 Sawvell, holding out a large, swollen right paw.
The pain wasn't too bad, apparently. Sawvell had a huge hand, so to speak, in Mundelein's 93-81 win over visiting Libertyville on Friday night.
On a night Mundelein introduced its newest hall-of-fame class at halftime, Sawvell played like a future hall of famer. \
He scored 24 points, including three vicious slam dunks, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, as Mundelein (17-11, 4-7 North Suburban Lake) won its second straight game, after four losses in a row. The Mustangs' victory also avenged a 71-70, overtime loss at Libertyville on Jan. 8.
"He's been jumping all week," Mundelein coach Dick Knar said of Sawvell. "He's been so fired up for this game.
"He's just been ANGRY," Knar added. "He played great. When he's playing with energy, he's so athletic that he's tough to stop."
Ben Brust also looked like a future Mundelein hall of famer. The Iowa-bound senior led the Mustangs with 28 points and 7 assists, while Robert Knar and Leavon Head each sank three 3-pointers and scored 15 points.
Libertyville (11-10, 5-6) received 22 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals from Hobie Herberger and 21 points (two 3s) from Ryan Barth. Billy Meyer added 12 points and 8 rebounds, while Luke Mathewson scored 9 points.
"It was crazy, just matching baskets," Wildcats coach Scott Bogumil said. "They had guys in foul trouble and they were just trying not to foul us, so we were just going right to the rim."
After a slow start by both teams resulted in Mundelein leading 14-11 after one quarter, action intensified and the home team found itself up 37-32 at halftime.
The third quarter was frenetic. It featured 56 points, 30 by Mundelein.
"It was just up and down," Head said. "We weren't playing (any) defense."
Head had played a key role during a pivotal second-quarter stretch. Brust went to the bench after picking up his third personal foul with 4:32 left and Mundelein clinging to a 21-19 lead.
Meyer's drive pulled Libertyville even at 21-21, but a 3-pointer by Dickie Knar started Mundelein on a 13-2 run. Head hit a 3 and baseline layup, while Sawvell contributed a tip dunk and 3-pointer.
"Me and 'Saw' just came together and we were like, 'We got to pick it up so we don't lose this lead,' " Head said.
Libertyville was within 58-55 in the third, but Brust hit a shot in the lane, a layup and then a 3-pointer to make it 65-55 with 54 seconds left.
The Mustangs kept at it in the fourth, sinking four more 3s, including a pair by Brust, and getting one final dunk late by Sawvell.
"I think tonight we were just all on the same page," Sawvell said. "Everyone was hitting their shots, everyone was making extra passes, and we had a couple of nice hustle plays."