To any eighth-grade basketball player in Elmwood Park with high school varsity aspirations reading this, take note:
“Scoring is partly what the defense gives you, and the other part is how aggressive you want to be,” Tigers senior Adrian Lach said. “I try to start off a game attacking the rim to get easy buckets, so then I can step back and take open shots. But if they’re giving me open shots from out there, I’ll take them.”
Lach’s words should carry extra weight for the next wave of varsity basketball players at Elmwood Park. He’s on pace to finish his high school career as the second-leading scorer in Tigers program history.
“He’s been a leader, a passionate player, he goes hard, and he’s a scorer,” Tigers coach Tony Sylvester said. “For what he’s done over the past three years for our program, I could never say a bad word about him.”
Lach has scored more than 800 points in his three-year varsity career, including the 17 he scored in Friday’s 66-45 loss to visiting Ridgewood.
Lach’s scoring ability was on display in the first quarter, when he scored 10 points on two 3-pointers, a mid-range jump shot and a finish at the rim.
“Adrian can be streaky, and he was locked in when he came out,” Sylvester said. “He knows some of the guys that play for Ridgewood, and he was up to the challenge.”
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One of the players everyone in the Metro Suburban Conference knows is Ridgewood’s Zac Rzewnicki, who shined brightest Friday by scoring 33 points, including nine 3-pointers.
Lach himself has been capable of such performances. He had 32 points and 12 rebounds in a 61-49 victory over St. Edward on Dec. 17. He seemed on track for a similar game against Ridgewood before the Rebels clamped down on him.
“They just had one guy always switching off on me, always face-guarding me, trying to keep me away from the ball,” Lach said.
Sylvester acknowledged Ridgewood’s increased defensive effort against Lach, with a caveat.
“They made some adjustments after that first quarter, and he wasn’t able to keep that momentum,” Sylvester said. “But he needed help, and we just didn’t get enough of it from enough guys. I think our guys still look to him too much to carry us. But we’re learning to get better at that.”
The Tigers (5-9, 2-3) trailed the Rebels (11-4, 3-3) 42-38 after three quarters, but Ridgewood pulled away in the fourth.
Alexis Lopez had nine points and 13 points for Elmwood Park and Daniel Wnuk added nine points.
“They’re defending sectional champs and they showed that when it’s winning time, they’re able to get it done,” Sylvester said of Ridgewood. “We’re just a step below that at this moment, but I told the guys that as long as we keep getting better by February, we’ll have a chance to compete.”
Lach entered the week with only 11 regular-season games remaining with Elmwood Park, and he may be looking at the final stretch of his basketball career.
Sylvester said the 6-foot-5 senior has the ability to play college basketball. But Lach wants to pursue an engineering degree, which may outweigh basketball interests.
“There’s always a desire to play because I love playing basketball, so I’ll see how it goes,” Lach said. “I’m still thinking about where I want to go. Maybe I’ll walk on somewhere.”
Gary Larsen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press