If someone had told Woodstock coach Gordie Tebo that his club would shoot 60 percent from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, not hit a single three-pointer the entire game, and still defeat Fox Valley rival Cary-Grove, Tebo probably would have had a deeply puzzled stare.
Yet that’s exactly what happened Friday at Woodstock as the Blue Streaks built a big third-quarter lead and then made sure the free throws they hit meant something in the fourth quarter in a 72-67 victory. The victory puts Woodstock (13-3, 8-1) in a tie with Cary-Grove atop the Fox Valley standings.
“We didn’t make a [three-pointer], and we were terrible on free throws,” said Tebo, whose club missed all 13 of its three-point attempts. “I was just pleased that other aspects of our game carried us into the victory.”
Woodstock used an 11-0 second quarter run to take a 40-32 lead at the half. A 9-0 run midway through the third gave the Blue Streaks their biggest lead of the game at 58-42 with two minutes remaining .
Cary-Grove, however, scored the final seven points of the third and carried the momentum into the fourth. The Trojans climbed to within two with just under 3 minutes remaining, and a layup by Cary-Grove’s Kevin Cooper (17 points) cut the deficit to one with 1:35 to play.
But Bill Hartwig (17 points) and John Rust combined to knock down six consecutive free throws to give Woodstock breathing room. Rust, who led all scorers with 23 points, was the lone bright spot from the line, converting all nine of his free-throw attempts. Tim Lind added 14 points for the Blue Streaks.
Jon Skalski led Cary-Grove (13-4, 8-1) with 21 points.
Pat Rooney.
Palatine 52, Fremd 50: Palatine (6-9, 1-3) used balanced scoring to hold off Fremd (12-3, 2-2) for the Mid-Suburban West upset. Jeff Ekeberg scored 12 and Clint Peterson added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Palatine, which iced the victory with a free throw by Bryan Duffey with a second left. Jeff Pedersen, who scored 16, led Fremd, which missed a three-pointer in the final seconds.
Dunbar 81, Gage Park 71: Jason Douglas and Jason Straight each scored 24 to carry Dunbar (10-4, 4-0) in the Public Red Central. Douglas hit six free throws and Straight added two in the final 30 seconds to hold off Gage Park’s Lamar Grimes, who scored 22 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter. Grimes had scored 36 points in each of his previous two games.
“We knew coming in we had to stop Grimes because he had been on hot streak,” Dunbar coach Fate Mickel said
Gage Park slipped to 14-4, 2-2.
Argo 69, Oak Lawn 51: Al Sewasciuk scored 22 points and Matt Walls added 19 as Argo (10-6, 2-2) prevailed in the SICA North.
Crystal Lake Central 61, Lake Zurich 50: Scott Mueller scored 28 points to lead Crystal Lake Central (10-7, 5-4) in the Fox Valley.
Deerfield 59, Maine East 27: Jason Kaplan’s 16 points led Deerfield (11-5, 3-1) in the Central Suburban North.
Downers Grove North 53, York 48: Joe Riner’s 14 points and Drew Carstens’ 13 led Downers North (8-6, 4-1) in the West Suburban Silver. Dan Harley scored 15 for York.
Driscoll 49, Marmion 47: Bill Lally’s layup and Art Becker’s free throw in the closing seconds gave Driscoll the Suburban Catholic victory. Becker scored 18 and Lally 13 for Driscoll, which has a 6-1 conference record. Chad Rehberg scored 18 for Marmion (7-8, 4-3).
DuSable 60, Robeson 53: Rashawn Hardy scored 26 and Richard Moody added 11 points, including five three throws down the stretch to seal the Public Red Central victory for DuSable (8-8, 2-2). George Jones led Robeson (9-10, 1-3) with 13 points.
East Aurora 73, Bartlett 62: Darius Lathen’s 15 points led five players in doubles for East Aurora (11-3, 3-2). Donte Frazier led all scorers with 20 points for Bartlett (3-11, 0-6).
Evanston 58, Waukegan 51: After Waukegan (6-6, 3-1) opened up the game with a 13-0 run, Evanston (10-4, 4-0) came back with Kenny Smith’s 16 points.
Evergreen Park 68, Kaneland 61 (OT): Mike Foster, who had 16 points, scored the last seven in regulation for Evergreen Park (10-6, 6-1) to send the game into OT.
Glenbrook North 51, Maine West 35: John Helferich’s 16 points helped Glenbrook (7-9, 2-2) cruise in the Central Suburban North.
Gordon Tech 58, De La Salle 45: Jitim Young’s 15 points and 10 rebounds and Michael Lang’s 14 points made the difference for Gordon Tech (13-3, 6-1) in the Catholic League. De La Salle fell to 5-12, 3-4.
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Hersey 61, Buffalo Grove 46: Keith Plywaczynski’s 25 points paced Hersey (6-9, 3-1) in the Mid-Suburban East. Scott Newman led Buffalo Grove (6-9, 3-1) with 14 points.
Hoffman Estates 48, Conant 46: Josh Stevenson, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, scored the winning layup with 2 seconds left for Hoffman Estates (9-5, 4-0) in the Mid-Suburban West. Paul Moersch, whose basket tied the game 46-46 with 14 seconds to go, and Mark Behrens each scored 10 for Conant (10-5, 2-2).
Kankakee 72, Rich East 41: Marcello Robinson’s 16 points led Kankakee (10-3, 4-0) in the SICA South.
Lincoln Park 68, Steinmetz 52: Lincoln Park (9-6, 3-0) won in the Red North with Brandon Pruitt’s 13 points and 15 rebounds.
Naperville Central 82, Glenbard East 60: Kenny Hill scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Mike Wilson added 15 points to lead Naperville Central (12-4, 5-1) in the DuPage Valley.
Niles North 59, Highland Park 43: Niles North (10-6, 4-0) rolled in the Central Suburban North with Matt Nelson’s 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocks.
Northridge Prep 108, St. Benedict 58: Steve Vicenteno scored 32 points and Giovanni Roldan added 18 for Northridge Prep (12-5, 3-0) .
Lake Forest 51, Mundelein 44: Willis Galloway hit 7 of 10 field goals en route to 18 points for Lake Forest (11-4, 3-3) in the North Suburban. Mundelein dropped to 10-6, 4-2.
Loyola 47, Mt. Carmel 44: Junior Brendan Falls scored 20 for Loyola (8-6, 4-3) in the Catholic League.
Oak Park 66, Glenbard West 50: Mike Brown came off the bench for Oak Park (7-7, 2-3) to score 19 points.
Prairie Ridge 74, Dundee-Crown 68: Scott Carmody’s 20 points sparked Prairie Ridge. Mike McKibben also scored 20 points to lead Dundee-Crown (5-11, 2-7).
Prosser 67, Lane Tech 63: Maurice Vaughn scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and pulled down 15 rebounds to give Prosser (10-6, 2-2) the Red North victory.
Rich Central 71, Rich South 54: Raymond Boyd scored 12 of his 22 points on three-pointers for Rich Central (10-5, 3-1) in the SICA South. Rich South is 6-8, 1-3.
St. Francis 60, Aurora Central Catholic 44: Matt Colella’s 20 points helped lift St. Francis (7-7, 5-2).
St. Joseph 60, Benet 50: Jabari Mattox’s 20 points and 19 by Chad Tancil sparked St. Joseph (11-6, 5-1) in the East Suburban Catholic. Paul Mysliwiec led all scorers with 22 for Benet (8-7, 3-3).
St. Viator 54, Notre Dame 50: Tony Papanicholas and Andy Schaeffer each scored 16 points to lift St. Viator (11-5, 5-1) in the East Suburban Catholic.
Schaumburg 59, Barrington 34: John Thorsen scored 14 points for Schaumburg (11-4, 3-1) in the Mid-Suburban West. Aaron Ritter led all scorers with 15 for Barrington (5-11, 0-4).
Stagg 56, Andrew 42: Nate Clark’s 20 points led Stagg (8-9, 2-2) in the SICA West. Howie Hansen led Andrew (5-11, 0-4) with 16 points.
Stevenson 60, Libertyville 50: Dave Simon scored 14 points to lead Stevenson (9-7, 3-3) in the North Suburban.
Sycamore 59, Lemont 36: Brad Stoddard’s 22 points carried Sycamore in the Suburban Prairie White.
Von Steuben 53, Taft 44: Phillip Watson’s 16 points and Marcus McGee’s 14 paced Von Steuben (10-5, 2-2) .
Walther Lutheran 76, Illiana Christian 54: Cornell Hemphill scored 20 points for Walther (10-4, 4-2). Mike Natelborg had 20 points to lead Illiana.
Warren 48, Antioch 29: Mark Klemm scored 14 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, to lift Warren (10-5, 5-1) in the North Suburban.
Westmont 75, Riverside-Brookfield 54: Pierre Pierce’s 20 points, Adam McNeal’s 20 and Eric Van Derstuyf’s 17 led Westmont in the Suburban Prairie White. R-B (5-10, 4-3) was led by Tim Brasic, who scored 13.
Willowbrook 71, Elmwood Park 58: Nick Hildreth scored 19 points for Willowbrook (12-4) in the non-conference matchup. Jimmy Pawlak scored 19 for Elmwood Park (5-11).