Lake Forest Boys Varsity Basketball Team won an instant classic against rival Libertyville Wildcats on Wednesday. The Scouts (10-6, 3-2) topped Libertyville (10-4, 2-3) in a defensive showdown, 39-33. 

Senior Hudson Scroggins led the charge with 21 points, and junior Dominic Mordini added eight of his own. Although the Scouts pulled off the big win, things did not look good in the beginning when Libertyville held an 18-5 lead in the second quarter. The Scouts could not get anything to fall. Halftime rolled around, and Lake Forest was down 20-13. 

“I always knew we had a chance. We made some adjustments in the locker room, and then executed them on the floor in the second half,” said Scroggins. 

In the second half, the Scouts came in looking like a whole new team. Forcing turnover after turnover, the Scouts stormed back into the game. The second half was all Scouts as Libertyville only scored 13 points in 16 minutes of play. Scroggins piled the points effortlessly, leading the charge in the third quarter. Mordini and Scroggins exchanged two huge three-pointers on back-to-back plays which aided the momentous comeback. Senior Grant Mordini had the loudest two points of the night when he connected with senior Luke Sawant on an alley-oop dunk that nearly shut down the gym. After that, the Scouts never looked back. 

ScoutNation loved what they were seeing, and the players felt their support.

 “The student section was a huge factor in that game,” said junior Burke Konz. 

“They were electric and kept us motivated when things went south early,” said Scroggins. 

The final buzzer went off and the student section piled onto the court to celebrate with the team after a very emotional and intense game. The rivalry between Libertyville and Lake Forest seems to be at an all-time high as there have been three nail-biting games in the last four months. The two teams meet again on Feb. 11th at Libertyville High School.  The Scouts return to action Friday, hosting the Mundelein Mustangs in the Competition Gym.