LIBERTYVILLE, Ill.–Winning on the road is a tough thing to accomplish. And, in their first true road game of the season, the LFHS boys basketball team found that out the hard way. Coming off two losses, their momentum was nonexistent. The Scouts started slow, trailing 11-5 through 5 minutes in the first quarter. They buckled down, however, and took the lead into halftime 24-23. Out of halftime, the game was a deadlock. Leads changed hands seemingly every possession and both teams were going back and forth. Late in the game, Lake Forest seemed to get a hold of the Wildcats. A Tommy Hanson 3-pointer gave the Scouts back the lead at 47-45 with 3 minutes remaining. Coach LaScala’s defense was playing terrific and it looked like the boys would go on to win. Up 53-50 and at the free throw line, Lake Forest looked to have all but won. After a free throw miss, Libertyville’s Drew Peterson had the ball for the Wildcats. Down by 3, he hesitated, then made a nice crossover move as Mead Payne looked to draw a charge, and ultimately nailed a deep three over Payne. The Scouts got the ball back with 40 seconds left, and here’s their final possession.
To overtime they went, and the extra basketball portion was controlled by the Wildcats from the tip. The Scouts were stagnant on offense, and Libertyville was propelled by an early Josh Steinhaus 3 in the extra frame. Libertyville ended up winning 65-60 in a thrilling game.
Many expected Peterson to be the focal point for the Wildcats–the offense did indeed flow through him–but his shooting wasn’t on point until the one that tied it. Steinhaus was the unexpected hero for Libertyville, as he finished with 22 points off five 3-pointers. The orange and black battled for offensive rebounds and got to the free-throw line a lot, two recipes for success. They outshot Lake Forest 37-8 in attempts from the charity stripe, and grabbed a key offensive board in overtime, leading to the five point win.
Ben Gibson and Sean Trkla led the Scouts with 22 and 16 points respectively. They needed better guard play if they wanted to end the losing streak, and they were very close to doing so. Shooting 9 for 23 from three point range kept them in it, but their free-throw lapses towards the end of the game ultimately gave the game back. Lake Forest played much better yesterday, than their two prior losses, so the improvement is a nice sight to see. The Scouts are back in action Saturday night at 6:00 against Deerfield. This weekend’s game is Alumni Night so let’s cheer on the Scouts as they look to get a win in front of the Comp Crazies.
