Stay Connected with YourSeason
Boys Basketball: Grayslake Central takes down Waukegan
Updated: December 14, 2011 10:17PM
Most certainly they are the best Class 3A team in Lake County that’s located west of the tollway.
And given that they will have the homecourt advantage for the March Madness sectional, you could argue that Grayslake Central has as good a chance to win the sectional as does defending sectional champion North Chicago.
That’s how impressive the Rams looked Wednesday in cooling off Waukegan 65-58 in a nonconference game.
The Rams (6-3, four straight wins)) most definitely passed the eye test, as they were led to victory by guard Jordan Taylor 6-9 Casey Boyle.
Taylor had 24 points (11-for-15 from the free-throw line, 6-for-16 from the field), and he scored all 14 of Grayslake’s points in the fourth quarter.
Boyle had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks.
“Tonight, we had some mental lapses and threw the ball away a lot, but we’re showing maturity when we need to,” said Rams coach Brian Moe. “You can be a little looser with the ball early in the game, especially against a team like Waukegan where it’s going to be up-and-down (fast-paced).”
Grayslake led 32-29 at halftime and Tyler Smith’s three-pointer and Boyle’s long deuce made it 37-32 early in the third quarter and the Rams led the rest of the way.
Waukegan (3-4) was down 58-48 with 4:43 to play, but got within 60-58 with 56 seconds left.
Taylor then made five free throws the rest of the way to secure the win.
“We just kept attacking,” said Taylor. “We kept our composure and focused on breaking them down.”
On the other side, Waukegan got 20 points from Akeem Springs (8-for-21, 3-for-9 from three-point range). He also had 10 rebounds.
Davonte Taylor had 10 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.
“We went from being so good against Evanston to looking like we didn’t practice all week,” said Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw. “Grayslake played great. They executed, made big plays, were well-coached and well-prepared.”
Grayslake scheduled this game in order to better prepare for North Chicago, another fast, small team.
“If we’re going to go anywhere in this area, we have to beat North Chicago,” Moe said. “So, we’re going to try and play as many teams like them as we can.”
Later this season, the Rams will take on Zion-Benton.
Friday night, the Bulldogs return to action, at home, against New Trier. Both teams are 2-0 in the Central Suburban League South Division.
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment