Focused Carter carries Wauconda

Different look, same shot.

Wauconda junior Donovan Carter may be nearsighted, but not wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses apparently didn't affect him on the basketball court the first month of the season. The returning all-area guard poured in 36 points on the opening night of the season against Johnsburg, after all.

"It definitely helps to have vision, but I just dealt with it," Carter said.

He started wearing sports goggles at the start of the Marengo tournament over Christmas, and opponents beware. When his shot is on, like was it Wednesday night against visiting Lakes, the basket, in his eyes, might look as large as a backyard pool.

The 6-foot-3 Carter poured in 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting from the floor to lead Wauconda to a 71-46 win in Northern Lake County Conference action.

He shot 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

"I couldn't get contacts right away, so it was recommended that I wear goggles," Carter said. "It's just a mental thing. You just have to get over the fact that you look different. It's a different feel, but once you get past that, your focus is on the game rather than whatever you have on your face."

Wauconda, which got scoring from 10 players but no one else in double figures, improved to 11-12 and 4-5 in the NLCC. Brad Cherry had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Lakes (5-16, 3-5), which couldn't capitalize on any momentum it possibly gained from beating North Chicago last Saturday night.

Carter recently scored 24 points in back-to-back games but was coming off an 11-point effort in a loss to Grayslake North last Friday night. He didn't shoot well in that game but was determined to bounce back against Lakes, which beat Wauconda 54-46 on Dec. 15 in Lake Villa.

"I went to the park district after school and shot around," Carter said. "I figured since I had a little bit of time I'd go there. I did that for about an hour, hour and a half, and then I came over here."

Wauconda coach Scott Luetschwager wore an ear-to-ear smile as Carter talked about that.

"We've had conversations with him to keep going," Luetschwager said. "Some games he gets a little more points, a little bit more open. Sometimes (shots) fall, and sometimes they don't. But we tell him to just keep his nose to the grindstone, keep on pushing and keep playing the game."

Carter scored 11 points and drained three 3-pointers in as many attempts in the opening quarter in helping the Bulldogs erase a 7-0 deficit to lead 19-13 heading into the second. He scored 6 more points, and Jake Shanholtzer's putback beat the buzzer, as the hosts extended their lead to 35-22 by halftime.

Carter dropped in 11 more points, including another 3, in the third. When he wasn't draining jumpers, he was finishing at the rim.

"Tonight was just one of those games where he was in the zone, and we just kept trying to feed him the ball," Luetschwager said. "He was aggressive with the ball and kept on going to the rim."

Cherry did all he could to keep Lakes close, scoring 13 points in the second half. He sank a 3-pointer in each half.

"He's a kid that can take over the game," Luetschwager said of the senior guard. "That was one the things we talked about the whole second half was that we have to know where Cherry is because he's going to want to take over that game. In the fourth quarter you saw when he gets the ball in his hands, he's willing to take that midrange jump shot, and he's going to knock it down if you give it to him."