Boys Basketball: Libertyville rallies from 13 back to beat Stevenson
BY TIM FROEHLIG Contributor February 3, 2012 10:46PM
Stevenson's Michael Fleming drives to the hoop against Libertyville during a game in February. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 13, 2012 10:26AM
This one had all the drama and excitement of a heavyweight title fight.
Host Libertyville rallied from a 13-point second quarter deficit to defeat North Suburban Conference Lake rival Stevenson, 62-60, Friday night.
It also included an odd turn of events early on.
After Stevenson won a hard-fought opening quarter, 20-17, they outscored Libertyville 13-3 in the second, to take what appeared to be a commanding 33-20 edge into the locker room at halftime.
The Patriots dominated the Wildcats in the second by holding them to an 0-for-16 mark from the field. And as ice cold as Libertyville was, Stevenson was red hot, shooting 52 percent (13-for-25) in the first half themselves.
Making matters worse for Libertyville (14-7 overall, 4-5 NSC Lake), Stevenson out-rebounded them 24-6 in the first half, including an 8-3 edge on the offensive glass.
Meanwhile, Libertyville hadn’t forgotten that Stevenson handed them their first loss of the season — a 69-62 overtime win Dec. 16 in Lincolnshire by the Patriots — after the Wildcats started the season 7-0.
“No, we didn’t talk about getting revenge, or the first game we lost to them as a motivational tool at halftime,” Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil said. “We talked about that pre-game.”
“I told them in the locker room when we were down big, ‘Hey, we’re playing at home in front of a big crowd here. Let’s pick it up.’”
Libertyville looked like a different team to start the second half. They opened play with a 17-4 run — which tied the game at 37-37 — led by Ellis Matthews’ (14 points) 10 third quarter points. Anthony Mack also scored eight of his 18 points in the period.
And despite the Wildcats’ furious rally, Stevenson, led by freshman Jalen Brunson (18 points, 6 assists), refused to let Libertyville take the lead.
The Patriots (13-9, 4-5) let Libertyville tie the game five different times the rest of the way. But that all changed with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, when Griffin Pils (17 points) found a wide open Luke Mathewson (11 points) between the top of the key and the corner.
Mathewson drilled a three that gave Libertyville a 56-53 lead — which was its first since the game was two minutes old. It was as close as Stevenson came the rest of the way before Matt Morrisey (13 points) hit a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer that was too little too late for the Patriots.
“I was hoping he’d pass it to me, because he drew three defenders in the lane on that play,” Mathewson said. “He trusted me enough to take the shot, which was really unselfish of him the way he’s been scoring points lately.
“Sure, it was a huge win for us, especially since this is a rivalry game, and we hadn’t forgotten what they did to us in overtime the last time out. It was a great team effort to come back like we did tonight.”
Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose felt his team let up a bit after taking such a big lead early on.
“Woulda, coulda, shoulda,” Ambrose said. “We just needed to play defense better in the second half. It doesn’t feel real good right now to lose one like this, but you’ve got to give it to Libertyville. They didn’t quit and found a way to come back.”
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