LAKE FOREST — With six seniors being honored before the game, the Zee-Bees of Zion-Benton knew they weren’t going to lie down quietly on Lake Forest’s Senior Night.

Especially the duo of Amar Augillard and Damonte Taylor.

Overall, Augillard, Taylor, and senior Floyd Bailey combined to score 48 of the Zee-Bees 56 points in their 56-54 victory over the Scouts to take over sole possession of third place in the North Suburban Conference.

“They’re two talented players,” said assistant coach Adam Mocogni, “Obviously, it was going to be difficult to stop both of them, but if we could limit them off the catch, we can slow them down.”

“We did a good job following through with that and putting ourselves in a good position to win the game,” he added.

Despite the tough loss, the Scouts did a fantastic job fighting throughout the ballgame. After the Zee-Bees got off on a 10-2 run to start the game, the Scouts kept the game close throughout, but could not fully break away.

Jack Malloy was a big reason behind the Scouts offensive attack, dropping 20 points on five three-pointers, a season-high in both categories for the talented junior.

“I just have been looking for my shot more and I am gaining more confidence to shoot my shot,” said Malloy on his recent success on shooting the ball.

The main issues on Tuesday for the Scouts was an inability to rebound the basketball in the final minutes, inconsistent nights from usually reliable shooters, and not trying to work the ball down low for most of the game.

The Scouts are usually a great shooting team, but when their reliable shooter’s shots are not falling, it can be a major concern. Cade Nowik and Asa Thomas struggled on Tuesday, and while it certainly wasn’t the main reason for the loss, when they aren’t getting baskets it is really hard for the Scouts to get going offensively.

For now, the Scouts have to move on to the final three games of the regular season which starts on Friday night at Libertyville in a critical conference matchup. Stay tuned to The Forest Scout for updates on the boy’s basketball team.

QUICK FACTS:

Scouts Record: 16-11, 7-5 

Next Game: Friday, February 21 at Libertyville – 7:00 pm at Libertyville High School