Libertyville lines up a Hardwood victory

Libertyville got it together at the free throw line just when they needed it most.

The Wildcats were only 3-for-9 at the foul line entering the final minute, but Brandon Rule, Harrison Bach and Drew Peterson all hit clutch free throws down the stretch to hold off Glenbrook South.

Libertyville withstood a late Titans rally to win 71-68 in first-round play at Monday's 38th annual Wheeling Hardwood Classic.

Peterson scored a game-high 24 points, while Rule had 8 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Next up for Libertyville will be Fremd (10-2), which defeated Streamwood 53-25 in the preceding game. The Wildcats meet the Vikings at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Glenbrook South opened up against Libertyville with a flurry of points to take a quick early lead, but the Wildcats recovered to begin the second quarter.

"We just started slow," said Peterson, as Libertyville trailed by 7 points in the early going. "We picked up our aggression immediately, and our pressure defense led to more open looks and we were able to knock down some shots."

A layup from Peterson and a 12-footer on the baseline by the sophomore midway through the second quarter helped Libertyville finally overtake the Titans midway through the period after trailing 19-14 following the first quarter.

The Wildcats, who finished 11-for-16 from the 3-point line, hit all 4 of their 3-point attempts in the second quarter to open up a 34-26 halftime lead.

"We were a little lethargic to open the game," said Libertyville coach Brent Mork. "Glenbrook South has some good players and they were ready to play.

"We started letting them drive to hard to the hoop, and not being able to find their shooters was no excuse. Luckily we were able to hit some shots tonight and that helped make up for our defensive shortcomings."

The hot shooting from the Wildcats (7-3) saw them hold a double-digit lead through most of the second half - but things got tense late in the contest.

Glenbrook South, behind 22 points from guard Matt Giannakopoulos, closed to within 4 points with a minute left. Then Rule and Bach each hit one-and-the-bonus from the free throw line to extend the lead.

Peterson also had a big free throw, but a Giannakopoulos layup closed the gap - and the Titans had chances to get even closer, but three 3-point attempts in the final 20 seconds rimmed out.

Glenbrook South finished 5-for-18 from behind the arc.

"We started to feel comfortable with a big lead," said Peterson, "and we let them come back. We were able to knock down the free throws when we needed them."

Paul Steinhaus and Jabari Quigley each had 11 points for Libertvyille, while Bach scored all 4 of his points in the final minutes.

Peterson added 6 rebounds for the winners.

"Drew did a good job," said Mork of the 6-foot-5 sophomore. "He basically can play any position on the court."