Boys Basketball: Lake Zurich builds early lead, downs Johnsburg at Bradley Center

Updated: January 28, 2012 11:51PM

MILWAUKEE -- A quick start was all Lake Zurich needed in its non-conference game against Johnsburg Saturday afternoon.

The Bears raced to a 10-0 lead in the first two minutes – and never trailed – which resulted in an easy 55-31 win over the Skyhawks, who were the hosts on the scoreboard.

Due to a special scheduling arrangement, the game was held at the Bradley Center, where the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks play their home games.

“We came out and took a quick lead, which I thought was really important,” Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said. “Especially since a lot of kids don’t seem to shoot as well in a big arena with an NBA backdrop, simply because it’s an atmosphere they aren’t used to.”

The Bears led 14-5 at the end of the first quarter. But immediately after the Skyhawks scored the first basket of the second quarter to cut the lead to seven, Lake Zurich scored the game’s next 13 points.

The result was a 20-point cushion that allowed the Bears to go deep into their roster early. Lake Zurich’s bench, led by Jack Arends and Justin Peterson (eight points each), outscored Johnsburg’s bench by a 26-8 margin.

In fact, the scoring was so spread out that Lake Zurich’s Doug Murphy (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Jeff O’Brien (10 points) were the only two players from either team to reach double-figures.

“It’s nice when we can count on anyone on our roster to step in and contribute,” Murphy said. “That’s definitely one of our team’s strengths.”

The Bears, who shot 37.7 percent (20-for-53) from the field, led by as many as 28 midway through the fourth quarter. But it was their dominant performance at the other end of the floor – which was one of their best all season – that made the biggest difference.

Lake Zurich (13-10 overall) held Johnsburg to a meager 24 percent (13-for-54) mark from the field, while allowing Johnsburg to score five points in the first quarter, and just two in the third.

Pitcher said he was specifically pleased with the play of senior guard J.D. Parcheta (five points, eight rebounds).

“J.D. was huge for us, especially early on,” Pitcher said. “He did every little thing right. Diving for loose balls, being aggressive on the boards, getting in peoples’ faces defensively. He gave us a lot of energy out there in the hustle category, which was key.”

Johnsburg coach Mike Toussaint, who was one of the most successful girls basketball coaches in McHenry County history, has experienced his share of growing pains in his first season leading the school’s boys team. He previously coached the Skyhawks’ girls squad.

“It seems like every time we take two steps forward, we take one step back,” Toussaint said. “Or we take one step forward, and then two steps back.

“We just need to find some kind of consistency. That’s that biggest thing for us right now. But yeah, it was really huge that they jumped out to a 10-0 lead right away. Anytime you spot a team a 10-point lead right away, it’s a tough spot to climb out of.”

Kevin Dombrowski (team-high eight points) and T.J. Sigmund (seven points) paced the Skyhawks (6-13) in defeat.

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