Racing down the court, Lorenzo Edwards hauled in a bounce pass from Lake Forest teammate Tommy Trkla, took a step forward and slammed the ball into the hoop with ferocity.
The dunk drew clear approval from the crowd of thousands that packed into Niles West for the City-Suburban Showdown on Saturday. And Edwards’ emphatic slam all but sealed the deal for No. 3 Lake Forest’s 57-35 win over Highland Park (18-7).
Edwards scored 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting, adding eight boards while teammate Evan Boudreaux notched 24 points and 15 rebounds of his own. He scored the Scouts’ first nine points.
Boudreaux, a Dartmouth-bound senior considered one of the state’s best players, raved about Edwards.
“Lorenzo beats me up in practice,” Boudreaux said. “He takes a lot of pressure off me.”
“We have the best bigs in the state,” senior guard Noah Karras added with a smile during the postgame press conference.
On Saturday night, Edwards and Boudreaux sure played like it. In total, the Scouts (24-2) out-rebounded Highland Park, 43-18.
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“They did a great job of finding each other,” Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala said. “The energy we brought tonight was fantastic, and the enthusiasm was over the top.”
After losing on Friday night to No. 1 Stevenson, the Scouts found themselves able to rebound with the blowout less than 24 hours later.
“It was big for us to have a game the next day,” Boudreaux said. “We put it behind us early.”
Lake Forest will play just two more games before its postseason begins, and after a perfect season save two losses to the No. 1 Patriots, the Scouts are ready for playoff time.
“We’re very geared up and very focused,” LaScala said. “But we have to be ready every night.”
Highland Park made just 13-for-51 of their field goals on the night, and the Giants were 5-for-34 from behind the arc. Being a perimeter-oriented team, those numbers doomed the Giants from early on.
“It was great experience for our guys to play in this kind of environment,” Highland Park coach Paul Harris said. “But when we shoot 5-for-34 from three, we’re going to struggle.
“There’s no shame in losing to Lake Forest. They’ve only lost twice all year, and they were both against one of the best teams in the state.”
Highland Park and Lake Forest have history with each other. The Giants beat the Scouts, 48-39, in last year’s Class 4A Libertyville Regional final.
“That blindsided us,” Boudreaux said.
And the two teams have now played four times in the last two years — Lake Forest has won three of the four. This year, the Giants and Scouts find themselves in the same regional once again, so a rematch between the two could very well be on the horizon.
“It’s a nice little rivalry,” said Highland Park senior guard Luke Norcia, who scored seven points. “We respect each other, and it’d be fun to play them again in a regional championship.”
Sam Brief is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.