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Boys Basketball: Lake Forest Academy’s Kori Babineaux hits school-record 48 points
Updated: November 29, 2011 8:16PM
Kori Babineaux arrived on the Lake Forest Academy campus as a renowned passer, but a season-ending injury to scoring star Charles Harris has forced the 6-foot-4 senior to make a quick adjustment.
Following a knee injury suffered by Harris, a 6-5 senior headed to Western Michigan University upon graduation, the Caxys struggled in the Waukegan Tournament opener against Warren.
But Babineaux found his groove in Game 3 on Saturday, exploding for a school-record 48 points in a 75-67 loss to North Chicago. The transfer from California was remarkably efficient, hitting 16 of 22 field goals — including 5-for-7 from three-point range — and making 11 of 13 free throws.
“He played a phenomenal game,” said Caxys coach Matt Vaughn, whose club dropped all three contests. “He did a great job of moving without the ball. And I don’t remember him taking a bad shot.”
Vaughn didn’t expect Babineaux to light it up this season.
“We did not anticipate he’d be able to score that much for us,” Vaughn said. “We knew with Charles out, Kori would have to take on a scoring role.”
Tough break: A fluke injury in practice will sideline Harris for the entire basketball season.
The Lake Forest Academy star, who has signed a national letter of intent to play at Western Michigan University, suffered a knee injury on Nov. 21. Vaughn found out on Monday morning that Harris will require surgery to repair a torn ACL.
“He just came down wrong,” Vaughn said. “We feel bad for Charles. Basketball is such a huge part of his life. To take away his senior season on a fluke thing is tough.”
The team will do its best to adjust without Harris on the floor.
“Nobody can afford to lose a player of his caliber,” Vaughn said. “But it’s even tougher for a school our size.”
Recap: The Caxys began the tourney by falling to powerful Warren 54-33 on Nov. 23.
“We had trouble with their size,” Vaughn said. “They were able to get some easy baskets in the half-court offense. They played solid defense, and we were not able to get into our offense.”
In addition, the Caxys were still in shock over the loss of Harris.
“We didn’t know how to react,” Vaughn said. “We didn’t have time to change our focus. Everything was drawn up with Charles in mind.”
Leaders in the opener were Babineaux (14 points) and Faith Ekakitie (12 points).
Lake Forest Academy put together a solid game on Friday, losing to host Waukegan 51-47 in overtime.
Babineaux created some excitement by nailing a 24-foot jumper to tie it at 42-42 at the end of regulation. But the Caxys were dealt a blow when Babineaux (21 points) fouled out just one minute into overtime.
Another standout against the Bulldogs was Ekakitie (17 points). Vaughn also commended his defense for holding Waukegan star Akeem Springs to 11 points.
“We really focused on stopping Springs,” said Vaughn, who used a rotation of David Rowe, Manny Chavez and Quai Chandler to harass Springs.
On the schedule: The Caxys were scheduled to face St. Rita on Tuesday. LFA will host CICS-Longwood at 6:30 p.m. Friday, prior to entertaining Mary Institute Country Day School at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
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