Lahrman, Wauconda close out Antioch
The call on the floor may have been questionable.
"I was very shocked," Zac Lahrman said.
There was no question who was the hottest shooter on the floor and who Wauconda wanted to have shooting a free throw with a chance to win the game.
"When Zac went to the line," Wauconda coach Scott Luetschwager said, "we knew he was going to hit both (free throws)."
The sweet-shooting Lahrman did, with 0.5 seconds on the clock. He swished a pair of foul shots to lift the host Bulldogs to a dramatic, 50-48 victory over visiting Antioch in a North Suburban Prairie Division opener Wednesday night.
"Both teams played so hard," Luetschwager said after his team improved to 3-2 overall, while dropping Antioch to 2-2. "You hate to see a game end like that."
It was a back-and-forth game that looked headed to overtime when Antioch's Trevor Koch banked a 3-point try that rattled off the rim in the final seconds.
"I jumped (for the rebound), came down and the kid covered me up," Lahrman said. "He tapped me a little bit, and they called it a foul."
The foul put Lahrman at the stripe for a one-and-one.
Before that, Antioch, which was up by 10 points to start the quarter, had the ball and called timeout with 29.9 seconds to go. After Wauconda center Ben Carlson blocked a shot out of bounds, Antioch called timeout again, this time with 8.1 seconds left. The Sequoits got off a decent shot by Koch (13 points, two 3s).
"I thought it was going to go in," said Carlson, who had 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks with a coach from North Central College in attendance. "By the time (the ball) went out, I was just relieved. I thought, 'Get back to the bench. Overtime.' The next thing I knew, Zac was at the free-throw line. That was pretty exciting."
It was nerve-racking for Wauconda's junior guard.
"My heart dropped," Lahrman said. "I tried to space everything out and focus on just me and the hoop, muscle memory."
Lahrman scored 9 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth, and his team needed him - or someone - to step up.
Antioch had ended the third quarter with a 9-0 run, as Kyle Gofron (7 points) drained a 3-pointer, Jack Kovach scored in transition, Jason Mrkonich (team-high 14 points) knocked down a jumper in the lane and Kovach finished an alley-oop dish. The flurry of points gave the Sequoits their largest lead, at 41-31, entering the fourth.
"We just said, 'You got to keep on playing. Work the ball into 'BC' (Carlson) and then look to get Zac the ball on the wing,' " Luetschwager said. "I told my shooters, 'If you're open and in rhythm, take the shot.' "
Wauconda opened the fourth quarter strong, as Ricky Sidlowski, who was in foul trouble most of the night, scored on a putback and Parker Fink drained his second 3-pointer of the game. Lahrman's drive and bucket capped a 7-3 run and had the Bulldogs within 44-38. Lahrman's baseline basket tied the score at 48-48 with 41 seconds left, after Carlson came up with a steal.
"I wasn't really getting my shots in the third quarter, so I wanted to do more in the fourth and get our team back in the game," said Lahrman, who hit three 3s in the opening half. "I just started driving and trying to get some foul calls."
In the end, he drew the most unexpected call.