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Boys Basketball: Rolling Meadows edges out Leyden in OT
Updated: February 18, 2012 9:39PM
Rolling Meadows took advantage of host Leyden’s horrendous shooting at the foul line in the last 2-plus minutes of the fourth quarter Saturday night to pull out a 62-56 overtime win in a nonconference matchup.
The Eagles (15-10, 6-6) converted just 1 of 8 attempts at the line in the final 2:09 of regulation, including misses on the front end of two one-and-ones.
Meanwhile, senior Brian Nelms, who scored a game-high 21 points for the Mustangs, hit a game-tying three-pointer with :22 to play in the fourth quarter and converted all four of his foul shots in regulation.
“They sort of helped us out with the missed free throws, and our guys never gave up,” Nelms said. “On the three-pointer, we ran a play, and I was open for the shot. If I hadn’t have been, I’m sure (teammate Michael Rose, who scored 14 points) would have been open and able to do something for us.”
Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said he was pleased to see his team battle back after falling behind, 51-42, when Leyden’s Alex Herrera (20 points) converted a three-point play with 2:39 left in the fourth quarter.
“It’s a huge win for us to battle back like that, especially only a day after a game against our biggest rival (Prospect),” Katovich said. “Our kids showed a lot of grit.”
Neither team led by more than two points in a first quarter that ended with Leyden holding an 11-9 lead.
Rolling Meadows (16-10, 8-2) took a 16-11 advantage on a layup by Tyler Gaedele (12 points) with 5:49 remaining in the second quarter, but Jonny Woolf (16 points) scored five points during an 8-0 run for the Eagles, who managed to hold on to a 24-23 lead at halftime.
A three-pointer by Herrera gave Leyden a 35-28 advantage with 4:05 left in the third quarter, but a 15-footer by Nelms with :06 to go in the period kept the Mustangs within 39-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
Rolling Meadows scored the first basket of the fourth to pull within 39-37, but a 12-5 run by Leyden, capped by Herrer’s three-point play, built the Eagles’ lead to 51-42 with 2:39 remaining. That’s when Leyden went cold at the foul line.
“Two things that are fundamental in basketball are making layups and free throws, and we sure had our trouble tonight in those categories,” Leyden coach Bill Heisler said.
Two free throws by Nelms accounted for the first points of the overtime, and the Mustangs never gave up the lead the rest of the way.
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