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Somber victory as Libertyville mourns Lipp

Alone on Libertyville's bench lay jersey No. 22, the one senior guard Jake Mansfield didn't want to wear any more because last season it belonged to Jack Lipp.

“He texted me last night,” coach Scott Bogumil said of Mansfield. “He said, I don't want to wear it the rest of the year,' ”

Libertyville played a basketball at Wheeling on Friday with heavy hearts and black tape on their white jerseys. Bogumil sported a “J.L. 22” patch on his shirt. The Wildcats then went out and, just a day after learning of the death of a former teammate, captured a 70-61 win over Niles North on third-day action of the Wildcat Hardwood Classic.

“We talked about just playing hard,” Bogumil said. “That's what Jack always did.”

Lipp was a two-year varsity starter and an all-area player last season after leading Libertyville in scoring. He passed away on Christmas, less than two weeks after falling from a balcony during a party in Columbia, Mo., where he was attending the University of Missouri.

“We're going to miss Jack,” said senior guard Conor Peterson, who played on varsity with Lipp last season. “Lipp was a great player, great individual, great teammate.”

“He would probably be at the games (at Wheeling) with all the buddies like Matt (Reed), Johnny (Vernasco) and Anthony (Monken),” said senior center Joe Borcia, who was a teammate of Lipp the last two seasons. “(His passing) was tough news for the whole town. We just tried to be motivated and play for him.”

Libertyville (6-5, 2-1 tourney) received 18 points and 6 assists from junior guard Paul Steinhaus, 17 points and 5 rebounds from Peterson and 15 points and 15 boards from Borcia, who also had 4 blocked shots. Mansfield, who wore jersey No. 3, added 9 points. Ben Kimpler grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 5 of his 7 points in the pivotal fourth quarter.

After the game, several of last season's seniors — including Reed, Vernasco and Monken — followed Libertyville into its locker room, where a basketball family hugged and grieved.

“Seeing those guys just breaks your heart too because it was such a good group,” Bogumil said of last season's seniors. “It's just sometimes life's not fair and you try to persevere the best you can and appreciate every day. Our talk today was, 'Today's a great day to play basketball. You have a great gift. You're with your friends.' ”

Libertyville, which wraps up the tournament with a 3:45 p.m. game today against Prospect, led Niles North by 10 points late in the third quarter. But the Vikings, who were led by Crishawn Cook's game-high 24 points, pulled even midway through the fourth. Steinhaus' 2 free throws snapped a 54-54 tie and started a 10-2 run.

Mansfield scored on a layup and dished out 2 assists down the stretch, and the Wildcats, despite the circumstances of their day, kept their composure. They sank 11 of 14 free throws in the final quarter.

“We decided to pass the ball, instead of dribbling it right away,” Bogumil said. “I'm real proud of the kids. That's a really good team and a team we might see in the (state tournament).”

“We were shaky at the beginning (of the game), but we had to remember why we were playing today,” Borcia said. “It was a great win.”

When Libertyville hosted Stevenson last season, Borcia got a couple of his teeth knocked, necessitating that he wear a particular mouthpiece that was not an actual mouth guard. Lipp was intrigued by Borcia's fashion statement.

“During games, he wore the little one for style, and they don't even protect your teeth,” Borcia said, smiling a toothy smile. “That's my favorite (Jack Lipp) story. He always liked to be stylish, he was always a hard competitor, and we're going to miss him a lot.”

Friday, the Wildcats dedicated a win to him.

Former Libertyville basketball star dies after fall in Missouri

  Libertyville guard Jack Lipp looks for running room after grabbing a defensive rebound against Mundelein on Feb. 8, 2013. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
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