Zee-Bees flying high after OT win

Updated: March 22, 2011 4:46PM

Freshman Malik Yarbrough scored a team-high 16 points and Zion-Benton survived a last-second three-point shot and escaped from Libertyville with a 64-62 overtime victory over the Cats in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division Saturday.

The win capped a huge week for the Bees (6-2), who posted back-to-back road wins in a league where winning away from home is challenging. On Tuesday, Zion won at Stevenson.

As the score suggests, this one went down to the wire. A pair of free throws by Dontre Osbourne with 1:05 left gave Zion a 63-57 lead.

Libertyville got two free throws from Ellis Matthews with 55 seconds left and a bucket by Griffin Pills with 51 seconds after a turnover to make it 63-61.

Zion missed two free throws, and Pills made 1 of 2 free throws with 12 seconds left to make it 63-62.

Carlyss Jackson, who missed the two free throws earlier, was then fouled and hit 1 of 2 for Zion to complete the scoring with 11 seconds left.

Yarbrough stole a pass and was fouled with three seconds left, but missed both free throws. Libertyville grabbed the rebound, called timeout, and Matthews' good look from behind the arc at the buzzer hit front iron.

"Libertyville played a solid first half (the Wildcats were up 29-25 at the break)," said Z-B coach Don Kloth. "We were fortunate to get out with a win tonight. Free throws hurt us at the end of the game.

"It's a hard-fought victory tonight against a very good Libertyville team that played without (Ryan) Barth."

Barth, a starter for the Cats, was out with an injury.

"We got production from the bench today," Kloth added, noting that freshman guard Javairius Amos-Mays had 12 points and Curtis Cook added six.

Yarbrough was happy his team posted a big road win.

"I picked it up at crunch time," the freshman said, "especially with Worthington out (fouled out with 3:23 left in the fourth quarter).

Yarbrough's big-time fadeaway bucket in the overtime built the overtime lead to 63-57.

Libertyville got 28 points from Matthews but lost for the first time in division play.

"It was a great high-school game," said Wildcat coach Scott Bogumil, who talked about the final play that nearly worked.

"That was the play we wanted," he said of the long pass to Matthews, who stepped back behind the arc and shot for the win rather than the tie. "It gave us a great chance to win at the end of the game."

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