Frasco, Beyak lead Prospect rally
Bobby Frasco and Kyle Beyak became friends over the summer. They learned how to take care of each other on the basketball court.
That all came into play as Frasco and Beyak rallied Prospect to a 55-52 win over Elk Grove at the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect.
The win puts the Knights in sole possession of the lead in the Mid-Suburban East, with a 3-0 division record and a 6-4 overall mark. Elk Grove fell to 6-3, and 2-1.
“We have each other’s back,” said Beyak who scored 15 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. “He had my back, and he trusts me with the plays. Sometimes we start out slow. We have to learn to come out firing from the start.”
The Grenadiers played a strong game and forced Prospect to play catch-up from the get-go.
Elk Grove broke out to a 8-0 lead and maintained a lead until midway through the fourth quarter, when Beyak and Frasco went to work.
The Grens led 50-43 with 5:24 left after Scott Furlong (11 points, 5 rebounds) connected on a 3 point basket.
Frasco started it off by getting a putback basket. Beyak scored on a drive to the basket and then a jumper in the lane.
Frasco blocked a shot and came down to the other end of the court to score, which gave Prospect a 51-50 lead with 2:42 left. Beyak assisted on a basket by Danny Thomas (14 points, 5 rebounds) for a 53-50 lead to finish the 10-0 run.
“The fourth quarter is the biggest part of the game for us,” said Frasco, who scored 14 points. “We played great as a team in that span and Kyle set up a lot of those fourth-quarter plays. He put us on his back in that run.”
Two free throws by Anthony Bianchini (16 pts.) closed the gap to 53-52 with :52 left.
Beyak connected on 2 free throws for a 55-52 lead with :18 remaining.
A 3-point attempt by Furlong fell short with :05 left.
“We put ourselves in a hole early,” said Prospect coach John Camardella. “ We’ve done that the past five games. We’re lucky that we’ve been able to rally in some of them. We have to learn to start games with more urgency. To Elk Grove’s credit, they executed well and hit their shots early.”
The Grenadiers had shooting woes in the fourth quarter, hitting just 2 of 12 and finishing 20 of 50 from the field for the game.
“Prospect finished off their plays in the fourth quarter,” said Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman. “We had four possessions during their run where we didn’t get any calls and I thought we should have. But they got a lot of points in the paint. It still came down to a quality possession at the end, and we didn’t make the shot.”