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Waukegan finds winning pace at Prospect

For three quarters, Prospect and Waukegan played at a breakneck pace.

The Knights were certainly in their comfort zone on their home floor, shooting over 50 percent up to that point.

And the Bulldogs got their share of run-outs that led to several thunderous dunks.

Inbounding the ball up 3 points to start the fourth, Waukegan switched things up by going to a spread offense and essentially running a delay game.

The change threw off No. 9 Prospect, and Jordan Johnson and No. 8 Waukegan dissected the Knights' half-court defense in the final quarter to earn a 67-60 victory in the Class 4A Prospect regional semifinal.

“They had control of the game at that point,” said Prospect forward Devin O'Hara. “They were trying to slow it down, we were trying to speed it up.”

Johnson drained a 3-pointer just before the third quarter buzzer to give Waukegan (15-12) its first lead since the beginning of the second quarter.

And the flashy 6-foot point guard, who finished with 16 points and 8 assists, picked up right where he left off in the fourth with 7 points in an 11-3 run that put the game away.

“We were giving up the middle too much,” said Prospect forward Mike Houghton, who finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds. “We weren't in the first half at all, but we let them do what they wanted to do to us, which didn't go the right way.”

“It just slowly got away from us in the second half,” said Prospect coach John Camardella. “If you asked me to put my finger on it, I couldn't yet. I think it's a few things. That's how the game goes.”

That wasn't at all how the game went early on as Bobby Frasco (17 points) hit three first-quarter 3-pointers, the last of which gave Prospect (15-12) a 15-6 lead.

O'Hara heated up in the second, scoring 11 of his game-high 26 points and helping the Knights to a 36-31 halftime advantage.

“That's exactly how we wanted the game to play out up until halftime,” said Camardella, whose team assisted on 9 of their 13 baskets before intermission. “Up five, we would have taken that any day.”

Like good teams do, Waukegan adjusted at halftime after O'Hara and Frasco combined for 28 first half points.

“We told them don't abandon your teammates, but shade to those (two) guys more, because they were having a field day,” said Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw, who also got 19 points from Quintin Davis and 17 from Jerome Davis.

Waukegan outscored Prospect 20-12 in the third quarter as Houghton and Jake Young (7 rebounds) desperately tried to keep an athletic Waukegan squad off the boards.

With the outcome already decided, O'Hara gave the home crowd one last thing to cheer about, swishing a 50-footer at the final buzzer.

“I'm really going to miss it,” O'Hara said. “It was a great way to go out. I really just want to thank my teammates, coaches, family and friends for everything. I'm really going to miss basketball, but now it's time to move on.”

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Images: Prospect vs. Waukegan, boys basketball

  Prospect’s Devin O’Hara gets double-teamed by Waukegan’s Tyrone Scafe and Quintin Davis under the basket in the first half of Class 4A regional semifinal play Thursday at Prospect. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Prospect coach John Camardella consoles Mike Houghton in the final seconds against Waukegan during Class 4A regional semifinal play Thursday at Prospect. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Prospect’s Jake Young and the rest of the defense have a tough time stopping Waukegan’s Devonte Taylor in the second half of Class 4A regional semifinal play Thursday at Prospect. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
  Prospect’s Welby Malczewski is emotional as he walks off the court at the end of the Knights’ game against Waukegan in Class 4A regional semifinal play Thursday at Prospect. Mark Welsh/mwelsh@dailyherald.com
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