In third grade, Lincoln-Way Central’s Korey Cagnolatti was cut from a travel team.
He didn’t cry about it. He didn’t pout about it. He wasn’t mad about it.
He actually didn’t know.
“I tried out and they didn’t call back, so I didn’t think anything about it,” Cagnolatti said. “My dad (Keith) told me the next year, so it wasn’t a big deal. I was like, ‘Oh, OK.’
“I wasn’t really that good back then. I got cut, but I kept playing and having fun.”
Continuing to play the sport he loves has paid off for Cagnolatti.
The junior guard, who’s in the starting lineup, scored 16 points Wednesday night to help the Knights to a 58-55 nonconference victory over Lemont in New Lenox.
Cagnolatti scored 12 points in the second half and hit four free throws in the final 1:15 for Lincoln-Way Central (7-10). Ben McLaughlin contributed 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that maintained the lead.
Ryan Runaas led a balanced attack for Lemont (11-6) with 12 points. That came 24 hours after he scorched T.F. South for 26 points in a 52-45 victory.
For Lemont, it was the team’s eighth game with a scoring margin of six or fewer points. This group has grown accustomed to close calls.
Cagnolatti, however, shook off struggles from early in his career and has been a key for the Knights as they try to inch toward the .500 mark.
“We essentially were a brand-new team in November, and guys are honing in on their role a little bit,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Evan Wyllie
More Top Picks Garmin Vivoactive 4
said. “Korey has come a long way from the beginning of the year, and we were trying to figure out the best way to get him in a position to help us.“We’ve had him on the ball, off the ball and we’ve been putting him a little bit more in scoring situations just because he’s so athletic and quick twitch and things like that.”
Wyllie confirmed Cagnolatti draws the opponents’ top guard on defense.
“Korey brings in a lot of energy and is a great defender,” McLaughlin said. “He can get downhill really well. He can do just about everything for us.
“He’s a great teammate to have on the floor.”
The Knights’ biggest play of the game Wednesday came on defense, even though Lemont scored.
With 1:15 left, Cagnolatti’s free throw put the Knights ahead, 53-48 and Lemont needed a quick score.
The Knights weren’t having it, hounding the ballhandlers outside the arc as valuable time was ticking off the clock before freshman forward Zane Schneider scored a layup with 44 seconds left, making harder for a comeback.
“That’s stressed all year — we have to bring it every single night on defense,” Wyllie said. “Usually, when you hold a team to the low 50s, you have a chance.”
All Cagnolatti has been looking for is that chance.
Before high school, he did enjoy some success, helping Mokena Junior High School’s seventh-grade team to the Illinois Elementary School Association state quarterfinals in 2020. He scored 13 points in a 55-51 overtime loss to Matteson’s Colin Powell, which featured Bloom stars Elijah Lovemore and Amare Pryor.
“It was back and forth,” Cagnolatti said. “But we lost at the end because of free throws.”
The start of this season had some rough patches for Cagnolatti and the Knights.
“It was a little bumpy and rough, but everybody seems to be stepping up and finding our groove,” he said. “I like pullup jumpers and attacking the basket, but I think I have a decent shot outside the arc.”
He said he loves basketball because there’s little or no down time.
“I love how fast-paced it is — you never get a break like all of these other sports,” he said. “You have to keep going and make quick decisions.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.