Thanksgiving break has come and gone and we quickly are moving on to the next holiday. The boys basketball team’s season, at the moment, is quite similar. Their tournament this past week was decent–nothing spectacular and no terrible stretches either–but fans are hoping to see improvements and better performances soon as conference play kicks off in December. The team came out of the tournament with a (2-2) record, with wins coming over Butler Prep on Monday night and U-High on Saturday afternoon. They lost games on Tuesday and Wednesday to Lincoln Park High School and a very solid St. Ignatius team.
Monday: Win over Butler Prep 63-45
Tuesday: Loss to Lincoln Park 65-53
The Lincoln Park loss was definitely a game the Scouts could’ve won. They got down early 8-0, but went on a run of their own and made it 8-7. From then on, however, Lincoln Park started to hold tight control until about the end of the third quarter. They led virtually the entire game besides a fleeting 44-43 lead for Lake Forest at the beginning of the fourth. From that short lived LF lead, silly fouls and costly transition buckets gave Lincoln Park the edge. Coach LaScala’s team dug themselves a hole in the fourth by fouling LP into the double bonus early, which then created seemingly 2 free-throws on every Lincoln Park possession, ultimately leading to a 22-point 4th quarter for Lincoln Park, paving the way for the 12-point loss.
Wednesday: Loss to St. Ignatius 51-40
Wednesday was a slow day for Scouts basketball fans. Ignatius held the lead for the entire game, never allowing any real Scouts momentum. A well-coached opponent, Ignatius played tight defense which forced Lake Forest into tough shots on most possessions. LF shot a mere 26% from the floor, which is not a recipe for success. The Scouts took tough shots and they weren’t falling. The silver lining, however, is the fight Lake Forest showed in the fourth quarter. After being down 35-19 through 3 quarters, Coach LaScala’s bunch outscored St. Ignatius 21-16 in the fourth.
Saturday: Win over U-High 41-32
The team finished the week on a positive note, earning the win over the Chicago natives from University High School in Hyde Park. Defense was the storyline in this one, especially in the first quarter which ended up 5-4. Lots of missed layups contributed to that as well, but things got better quickly. The Scouts had a close lead the whole game and the game never seemed all that tight. Quick shots early into possessions late in the game with a small lead certainly didn’t please Coach LaScala, but the defense held strong and Lake Forest walked away with the win.
Mead Payne was awarded to the All-Tournament team for his four-game resume in the tournament. Payne had 26 points in the opening win against Butler Prep, 20 against Lincoln Park in the second game, and nearly had a double-double in the finale with 9 points and 11 rebounds against U-High.
The Scouts are back in action Thursday at home on Teacher Appreciation Night. They play St. Viator (4-0) at 7:00. Let’s pack the stands for the home opener.
