Wednesday Night In The North Suburban Conference

A clash amongst North Suburban conference foes took place Wednesday night in Lake Zurich. One of the top ranked teams in the state Gurnee Warren (14-1) took on a hard nosed Bears squad that didn't quit the whole evening. Although Warren led outright from the middle of the 1st quarter to the rest of the game, Lake Zurich clawed it's way back into a 3 possession affair at times in the 3rd and 4th quarters to keep within reach. By the final buzzer, Warren tallied it's 15th win of the season while Lake Zurich dropped to 7-10. Below are scoring breakdowns by quarter. Let's get into who stood out in this one from both teams.   Lake Zurich: 14, 25, 39, 55 Warren: 20, 34, 51, 67    Tough guard to stay in front of with the ball in his hands tonight. Hesitations to freeze defenders, jab steps, spin moves in traffic, and slashing to the bucket underneath. Has great use of balance and body control with the rock while driving. Aggressive attacker all night. Tip toed his way to the rim on multiple occasions 1v1. Creates contact on defender to get to the stripe. Played to his strengths and got to his spots efficiently. Comfortable pushing the ball in transition and scoring it on primary break opportunities. Runs the floor cohesively with other quick guard. Led team in scoring with 18.     Scored it at a high clip. Plays mostly the 2 spot and will fit in well in that role at the next level. Relieves the other main guard with handling responsibilities at times and is comfortable doing so. Every time opponent wanted to run away and push the lead out of reach he had an answer. Showcased 3 level scoring ability. Catch and face jumper from just inside the 3 line and spot up catch and shoot quick release 3 from wing. Pure shot with strength. Utilizes ball screens or can get to the cup with quickness on his own. Successful on a couple coast to coast lay ins between defenders after d boarding. Made a tough cross court pass after O board for an assist to cut lead to 3 possessions in the 4th. Tough competitor throughout.     Defensively can really stick on the ball in a tough grind it out manner. Elite lateral foot movement jumping to the spot of where the ball is going which is accompanied with extremely quick hands. Is a step ahead of the play on both sides. Drags defenders away from the middle of the floor after receiving screens to significantly widen the court out. Makes tough passes look simple. Skipped it or dropped it off beneath after driving to fill the assist bucket. Has a next step burst after putting on the jets to get downhill in the break phase. Draws spacing with a quick handle and first step. Has the ball on a string and can score it from 3 levels. Impressive to watch and will continue to garner power 5 college attraction.     Tough 4 man that did a lot of the dirty work underneath against a highly touted opponent. Has a complimentary inside out game. Comfortable spotting up from 3 on catch and shoot opps. Was successful driving it multiple times in traffic. Scored a tough bucket to end the 1st half at the buzzer to keep within striking distance. Tallied at least 5 times he drew contact to get a whistle while getting to the rack. Rebounded his own miss twice for second chances. Had an impactful O board and score to cut it to 9 with minute and half left. Strong willed paint presence.     Plays a small forward spot for team. Would fit in the same position at next level or at the 3 spot. Got in foul trouble in the first half so didn't stack as many minutes but made his presence known when he was in the game. Had a cool drive and spin move fading away for a soft touch floater and made another tough drive from the base to middle of the lane for a fadeaway 4 foot jumper. Successful getting to the rim a couple other times as well. Defensively helps out on drives to challenge scorer underneath. Made a clean block and had multiple tipped deflections in the paint.     Team's main point guard. Took on a big challenge against one of the top players in the state. Stood his ground respectively throughout the evening. Showcased solid IQ. Screened for curl man then popped out after getting space for knock down catch and shoot 3. Screened oppo block for a screen assist on flex action. Utilized a ball screen to get to the cup to finish with a kiss off glass. Hit a couple mid range tough jumpers as well from 8-10 feet. Sticks to his role and adjusts to the defense accordingly.     Combo guard that provided some sparks throughout the night. Had 3 separate drives of going right at defender and scoring in the open court while beating the help at the rim. Squares up and picks spots of when to go. Made a nice rip through and converted in heavy traffic. Possesses a first step that demands attentiveness.

A clash amongst North Suburban conference foes took place Wednesday night in Lake Zurich. One of the top ranked teams in the state Gurnee Warren (14-1) took on a hard nosed Bears squad that didn't quit the whole evening. Although Warren led outright from the middle of the 1^st quarter to the rest of the game, Lake Zurich clawed it's way back into a 3 possession affair at times in the 3^rd and 4^th quarters to keep within reach. By the final buzzer, Warren tallied it's 15^th win of the season while Lake Zurich dropped to 7-10. Below are scoring breakdowns by quarter. Let's get into who stood out in this one from both teams.