Boone's 26 points, 11 boards lead Libertyville past Mundelein
The first thing that jumps out when perusing the Libertyville boys basketball roster is the endless repetition of the number 6 in the "height" column.
Fourteen of the 16 rostered team members on the Wildcats break the 6-foot mark, with Aidyn Boone towering at 6-6.
Wednesday night at Mundelein, Boone, a senior forward, was simply on a different level.
By the time he went to the bench for his first break of the game with 5:31 remaining in the second quarter, Boone already had 14 points, 6 rebounds and a steal.
The senior didn't stop there.
Boone finished with a game-high 26 points and 11 boards as the Wildcats used its height advantage - and tough defense - to score a 54-39 North Suburban Conference win over the Mustangs.
Libertyville (16-3, 6-0) held a sizable advantage on the glass.
"He came out with some fire tonight," said Wildcats coach Brian Zyrkowski of Boone, "and I thought we did a good job of getting him the ball in the post, in good position."
Mundelein played a solid game and stayed within striking distance, thanks to aggressive drives to the basket and the 3-point shot, but couldn't overcome the difference on the boards.
The Mustangs closed to within 6 a few minutes into the second half but couldn't get any closer.
"They are a big team," said Mundelein coach Matt Badgley, "and right now they're the best team in the conference."
"We knew it was going to be a tough task for us tonight. They have big, skilled kids who play well, and they have some nice guards. We battled but sometimes you just come up on the short end of the stick."
Libertyville took a double-digit lead in the second quarter when senior guard Jack Huber found Boone right under the basket for an easy layup.
Boone's coast-to-coast drive and twisting, turning layup in traffic increased the advantage to 31-14 later in the period.
Then after intermission, the Mustangs (8-11, 1-5) came out strong and cut the lead to 35-29 midway through the third after a 3 from sophomore Derek Bishop.
"You've got to credit Mundelein's defense," said Zyrkowski. "They made some adjustments in the post and they wound up creating some havoc down there."
Libertyville extended the advantage in the fourth, and a tip-in by Boone made it 47-34 with 6 minutes left.
The Wildcats closed out the game at the free-throw line with Boone, Huber and senior Cole Bonder all hitting clutch foul shots.
Bonder, who is also 6-6, pitched in with 12 boards, while Huber finished with 9 points.
"A conference win is never free. You've got to fight hard every single night," said Zyrkowski.
"Our size has been our bread and butter, and tonight we utilized that size. I don't think we really shot that well but you've got to finish games and get those free throws down the stretch, and I think our guys did that."
Bishop led Mundelein with 14 points, while Emmanuel Willoughby was outstanding on the glass as well, leading the Mustangs with 10 rebounds.
"This is a fun group of guys," said Badgley of his team, "and I'm glad I'm able to work with them. We fight, but at some point we just lose our footing in the race at times."