North Shore claims first regional

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:16AM

History was made in Arlington Heights.

North Shore Country Day (14-7) won its first boy's basketball regional championship with a 67-48 victory over Christian Liberty Acdemy (11-15).

First year head coach Rashid Smith knew of the Cubs-like turmoil his school had endured, but had a clear mind during Friday's Christian Liberty Regional championship.

"I told the kids at the beginning of the game that at the beginning of the game and at the end of the game is where the hoopla, the celebrations and the events would happen, but during the game, it's another game so approach it that way and I thought we did," said Smith. "We came out and played really hard; we didn't play like we were trying to win a championship."

Getting to this point in the postseason could be given a little credit to the man who no longer roams the sidelines according to the Raiders' star guard.

"I just look back to Omar [Mance], who was our coach last year and now he's coaching at West Point," said sophomore guard Austin Curren. "He brought a different energy to North Shore like we're going to be winning and we're not going to be a sub-500 team like our school has always been. If you go into our school, we don't have any banners so it really means something to get something up there."

The one seed NSCD had a firm grasp on the opening half with a 34-18 advantage.

Scoring in the first 16 minutes was coming from all over the floor for the Raiders as no one player was over six points.

The First half was also a swat party for the Raiders as they got eight of theirfinal total of 12blocked shots with four coming from senior Ryan Nolan.

NSCD began the second half with a 9-0 run and took the game out of reach for the Chargers.

The final quarter belonged to CLA as it tried to revive itself back into the game.

The host Chargers outscored the Raiders 17-9 in the fourth, but their final effort with their raucous crowd was not enough.

Curren finished with 15 points and four boards and Nolan ended with six points in addition to his five blocks.

Sophomore Riley Hall, who had a quiet first half, led the team with seven rebounds and nine points.

Next up for NSCD is either Chicago Hope or St. Benedict in the Mooseheart Sectional semifinals, which will take place Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

"We just need to maintain our focus and keep shooting in the gym," Curren said. "When our shots go in, everything is easier."

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