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Growth shows in a road win for Rolling Meadows

Growing up is hard to do.

Rolling Meadows is doing it, grudgingly sometimes, and showed it Tuesday night at Hoffman Estates in holding on - just barely - for a 60-58 Mid-Suburban divisional crossover win in boys basketball.

The Mustangs let a 28-19 second-quarter lead dissolve quickly but summoned the poise to withstand a see-saw second half and emerge with the win. The key plays were steals, with the ball winding up both times in guard John Lothery's hands. He proceeded to go the length of the court for a layup on one and hit 1 of 2 free throws on the other to provide the cushion.

"Our coaches are always telling us to be on our toes, to be expecting the ball," said the 6-foot-1 junior, one of five underclassmen starting for the Mustangs (4-4).

But these young guns for the Mustangs are learning how to withstand the degree of pressure that Hoffman Estates (2-4) applied. Time and again the equally young Hawks came at the Mustangs and time and again they stood up to the task.

"We're growing up on the fly," said Meadows coach Kevin Katovich, whose first seven are all underclassmen.

But before Lothery and quick-handed teammates Jared Murphy and Jack Schoessling (team-high 21 points) performed their acts of larceny, Jorden Thornton (game-high 24 points) sparked Hoffman.

His second 3-pointer tied the game in the third quarter and kept it nip and tuck from there. His third and final 3-pointer gave Hoffman its first lead since 1-0. But his fourth foul sent him to the bench and Schoessling and Murphy hit jumpers, Murphy's a 3, for a 54-50 lead, while Hoffman committed consecutive turnovers.

Re-enter Thornton.

"We definitely need him in the game," Hoffman Estates coach Luke Yanule said of the 6-foot junior. But even after he fouled out, Brandon Hall converted consecutive fastbreak layups for a 58-55 lead.

It didn't last, though, as Schoessling's free throw and Lothery's steals turned the tide. Hoffman had a last chance but couldn't generate a decent look against a scrambling Mustang defense, especially without Thornton on the floor, making things difficult for Hall (10 points), Dante Cleveland and Terry Davis, who had earlier hit a pair of big shots.

"We knew they were going to keep fighting," Katovich said of the Hawks, although his rotating and switching defenses made Thornton work hard for his points while Schoessling made him work hard on defense as well.

Yanule, though, looked to his team's slow start as a major reason for the loss.

"We haven't come out ready to play," he said. "We've come out flat. We've got to be ready for Conant (Friday)."

Lothery also was reflecting on how to avoid these rapid-heartbeat finishes.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," he said of the steals. "I definitely feel like we're making progress. A lot of guys stepped up."

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