GLENVIEW, ILL. — Things went a little differently last night than in recent games for Lake Forest’s boys basketball team. After playing a competitive, low-scoring first quarter, things got out of hand for the Scouts in the second. Glenbrook South went into halftime up 21-13, holding onto the momentum after outscoring the visitors 14-7 in the second period. After the Scouts players were corrected at halftime, they came back and a Jed Thomas buzzer-beating layup made it 27-25 after 3 quarters. In the 4th, it looked like the Titans were going to run away with this game. They stretched the lead to seven early in the final quarter. To the surprise of many, however, Lake Forest regained the lead by two after a Jack Van Hyfte three pointer, and an “and one” by Jake Fisher to tie it. A Ben Gibson steal and layup gave the Scouts a two-point lead with a minute left. Still, the game was not done. Dom Martinelli of Glenbrook South converted an “and one” of his own with 15 seconds left to ultimately win the game after a Fisher three pointer fell short at the buzzer. The final score from the Titan Dome in Glenview was 39-38, a one point win in favor of home team.

This loss makes the Scouts 1-4 with the opportunity to win in the final seconds. Their go-to player, Gibson, has only taken the final shot in one of those match-ups: a cause for concern among Scouts fans, myself included. Even without that final shot opportunity, Gibson led Lake Forest scorers with 11 points, and Mead Payne managed to finish with eight points against the much smaller Titan team. This is definitely a game Lake Forest should’ve had, and could have won. For now, it’ll serve as a learning opportunity for a team who heads to Stevenson next on Saturday, February 3rd in what will be another competitive game.