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Nardini turns it on as Vernon Hills handles Wauconda

He admitted he got a little crazy in the third quarter while trying to drive through defenders on his way to the basket, only to lose the ball out of bounds.

However, the Vernon Hills faithful most likely forgave senior star shooting guard Robby Nardini, who more than made up for that lone turnover Friday night by pouring in a game-high 26 points to help lead the Cougars to a convincing 66-28 North Suburban Prairie Division victory over visiting Wauconda.

"Yeah, I was trying to dribble through their zone and lost it," said Nardini, who averages 23 points and earlier this year eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career. "We just had excellent energy from the start and we moved the ball really well."

Nardini was drilling 3-pointers from all over place, including three in the first period as the hosts took command with a 20-3 lead after the opening act.

Nardini, who dropped in four more three-pointers in the second quarter, finished the game 8-of-11 from behind the arc.

"He's playing really well and has found his shot. He was dialed-in tonight," said 12th-year Cougars coach Matt McCarty, whose club improved to 12-2 overall while remaining unbeaten and atop the Prairie at 5-0. "We shot well from the arc and our defensive energy was outstanding."

For the game, Vernon Hills was 14-for-25 from long distance.

The Cougars did an excellent job defensively on a bigger Wauconda team, which slipped to 9-6 overall and 3-1 in the division. The Bulldogs finished shooting 7-for-19 in the first half and 10-for-41 for the game.

Wauconda looked like it was back on point when it opened the second quarter with a 9-3 spurt. Senior forward and co-captain Benjamin Carlson's layup with 3:25 left before halftime closed the gap to 23-15. But that's as close as the Bulldogs would get because after that run, as who else but Nardini answered with three consecutive treys and all of a sudden Vernon Hills had a 32-17 cushion heading into the locker room. Carlson was the only Bulldog in double figures, finishing with 15. He also grabbed 10 boards.

Nardini was actually quiet in the third quarter. But that's why you have teammates and tonight, senior forward Sam Rattner contributed big-time with 9 of his 15 points in the third. Nardini hit his last bucket, a trey, before being taken out with just over five minutes left and the game well in hand.

Vernon Hills has a week off before heading to Grant next Friday night for another Prairie division clash.

"We like where we are right now but there's a lot of work to be done," added McCarty. "We have to keep working on our post defense and pressuring the ball without fouling."

As for Wauconda, the Bulldogs travel to Lakes next Tuesday for another North Suburban Prairie tilt.

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