Lakes shoots past Wauconda
Havilands have ... game.
If nothing else, father and son demonstrated Tuesday night at Lakes why “shooting is contagious” is an axiom.
While Benett Haviland may have been finished scoring for the night after his 6 points helped fuel a second-quarter rally for Lakes’ basketball team during its 53-40 win over Wauconda in the teams’ North Suburban Prairie Division contest, his dad was just getting warmed up. He showed off a between-the-leg dribble and then the old Haviland shot.
Dean Haviland, a former basketball star for Antioch, hit a halfcourt shot during a halftime contest, netting him a car stereo compliments of Premium Sound and Security in Antioch.
“He has a better shooting percentage than me right now,” Benett Haviland joked of his dad.
Shots were falling all night for Lakes (7-10, 3-2) after spotting Wauconda (11-5, 3-1) a 12-6 lead after one quarter. Junior guards Haviland and Tramone Hudson combined for 12 points, and TJ Edwards knocked down a 3-pointer, as the Eagles outscored the visitors 17-7 in the second quarter. Haviland sank a pair of jumpers and a layup.
“Just a lot of team ball going on,” said Haviland, who credited his teammates for finding him the ball. “We were screening, getting other guys open.”
Since starting the season by losing all five of its games at Mundelein, Lakes is 6-5. The Eagles, who have only three seniors on their roster, have won three of four heading into Friday’s rivalry game against Antioch.
“Being a young team and all, a lot of people don’t expect us to come out and be up there, but we have a lot of good team chemistry that’s (developing),” Haviland said. “We’re tough, and we’re starting to play like it.”
“We’re coming along nicely,” Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “These young guys are just starting to understand what it takes to win at that varsity level. We’re seeing a little better execution and focus. I thought we really saw that tonight after that first quarter.”
The return of Edwards has given Lakes a lift. The Wisconsin-bound football player made his return to the court last Friday — he missed 10 straight games while letting his injured knee suffered during football get stronger — and helped the Eagles beat Grant. He had 9 points and 2 blocks against Wauconda, while also helping limit Bulldogs leading scorer Dion Head to 4 points.
“He brings enthusiasm, and he just has a presence,” Hudson said of Edwards. “He brings us together.”
Hudson led Lakes in scoring with a game-high 16 points, while also contributing 7 steals and 6 offensive rebounds. A player who often starts, Hudson came off the bench.
“We’re just playing around with different starting lineups,” Snyder said. “The nice thing about guys like Tramone and this group is that if they’re not starting, they’re OK with it. Obviously Tramone brings a lot to the table for us. He’s a pretty darn good player.”
More strong bench play for Lakes came in the closing seconds of the third quarer when sophomore Jordan Mercure hit junior Jack Monson for a layup that had the Eagles up 37-29.
“That was huge for our team,” said Snyder, whose Eagles also received 9 points and 6 rebounds from starting forward Michal Tomasiewicz.
“We got more chemistry (since the start of the season),” Hudson said. “We’re a young team with mostly juniors so we’re still developing.”
Joey Lovelle led Wauconda in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting. The senior point guard had his outside shot working all night, and a couple of his jumpers kept the Bulldogs within five early in the fourth.
“Great game,” Bulldogs coach Scott Luetschwager said. “Those are the type of shots that we’ve been talking to him about, saying, ‘This is where you get your shots in the offense. Within our transition, guys will go to their spots. Trust your teammates to pass the ball back to you, and if you’re in your rhythm, knock it down.’ He had a big night for us.”
Ben Carlson added 10 points and 9 rebounds for Wauconda, which committed 25 turnovers. Ricky Sidlowski grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
“We couldn’t hit a shot, mainly because of their pressure,” Luetschwager said. “They got into us and they rushed our shots a little bit. And then we’d get turnovers and then give the ball right back to them.”