Senior Mike Travlos scored 10 of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t quite enough to rally the Lake Zurich boys basketball team past St. Viator as the Lions won the Class 4A Wheeling Regional championship 48-42 on Friday night.
Lake Zurich (23-9) trailed 44-37 with just under a minute to go when Travlos nailed a long 3-pointer — one of four on the night — then fed senior Will McClaughry (10 points) for a layup to bring the Bears to within 44-42 with 30 seconds left. But St. Viator (18-9) hit four straight free throws to give the fifth-seeded Lions the victory over fourth-seeded Lake Zurich.
“It’s a tough locker room. It’s real tough,” Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said after talking to his team. “A lot of these guys have been together for a long time.
“There was no lack of effort tonight. We laid it all on the line.”
St. Viator was paced by senior Patrick McNamara with 14 points and senior Kevin Monson with 10. Lake Zurich was called for seven offensive charges, including three in the fourth quarter. The Bears shot one free throw for the entire contest (St. Viator was 8-for-11). Their previous low for attempts in a game this season was eight. Pitcher bemoaned a few too many outside shots.
“Our first three possessions were threes, and we miss them all,” Pitcher said. “We [said], ‘Got to get it inside. Got to get it inside to Will.’ They did a great job on him.”
Held to only three points in the first half, which saw Lake Zurich trail 19-15, Travlos exploded in the second half via his shooting, two nifty assists and two steals.
“That’s what he’s capable of,” Pitcher said. “He’s a really tough guard.”
“We fell a little short, but we gave it our all,” Travlos said. “They were all over me all game.”
Lake Zurich trailed 23-18 early in the third quarter, but the Bears went on a 10-2 run to grab a 28-25 lead. The last five points came on a Travlos three, followed by a steal and layup by senior Jack O’Neill (five points). The Lions closed out the quarter with a five-point run for a 30-28 lead.
“They’re a very disciplined team. They ran some great stuff,” St. Viator coach Quin Hayes said. “They were very tough to defend and they just kept coming and kept coming.”
Mark Perlman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
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