Downey, Boudreaux help Lake Forest stop Hersey
Hersey had no answer for the 1-2 punch of Lake Forest’s Sam Downey and Evan Boudreaux as the Huskies were bounced from the Class 4A postseason with a 69-45 regional semifinal loss Wednesday at Lake Zurich.
“They are both really good and very long,” Hersey coach Steve Messer said. “I felt that we were a step late on the boards. We needed wing help, and it just wasn’t there.”
Lake Forest will meet Mundelein, a 66-46 winner over Lake Zurich, in Friday’s regional final.
Hersey (8-19), which was seeded 20th in the sectional, put a scare into Lake Forest after the first quarter.
Alex Sutrinaitis, Payton Haas and Connor Watters each nailed a 3-pointer as the Huskies led 15-14 after one quarter.
“We had a lot of energy to start,” Messer said. “The kids believed in themselves.”
Behind the 6-foot-9 Downey (21 points, 6 rebounds), who is headed to Yale next year, and the 6-7 Boudreaux (13 points, 10 rebounds), who is a sophomore and has a pair of Division I offers, fourth-seeded Lake Forest (20-7) blew the game open.
The Scouts opened the quarter by scoring the first 8 points, on their way to a 13-2 run and a 27-17 advantage with 3:42 left in the half. Leading 34-23 at the half, Lake Forest opened the third quarter with a 12-6 run to blow the game open. The Scouts led 46-28 late in the period.
“They just had more energy than we did,” said Haas, who had a career-high 15 points to lead the Huskies. “I thought we could win and I am disappointed that we didn’t. But I have two more years to look forward to.”
Despite the record, Messer was pleased with his team’s performance this year.
“I am very happy with this group of kids,” Messer said. “They did everything right all season. They came up short, but their energy and the way they brought it to practice was very good. It is a great legacy for our seniors to leave with.”
Watters was also happy with the leadership that the seniors brought this year.
“We finished strong,” said Watters, who had 8 points. “I think we showed that we had the capability to build in order to make a deep playoff run. And I know next year’s team will work off of that.”