Rolling Meadows gets past Buffalo Grove in OT
Rolling Meadows' boys basketball team overcame 0-for-10 shooting and a 13-0 deficit to start the game to beat visiting Buffalo Grove 65-60 in two overtimes Saturday night in Mid-Suburban East play.
Sophomore Jared Murphy (27 points, 7 rebounds) put the Mustangs ahead for good with :51 left in the second overtime at 59-58. Jack Schoessling (17 points) followed with 2 free throws and Murphy had 2 more for a 63-58 lead with :17 left.
The win keeps the Mustangs' hopes alive in the Mid-Suburban East at 3-2, to go with a 7-9 overall mark. The Bison fell to 0-5 and 3-13.
"The first half was the best we played all season," said Bison coach Keith Peterson. "We did everything well. We played good defense, shot the ball well and rebounded. But we couldn't sustain it in the third quarter when they made a run and cut it to 1 (35-34) at the end of the third quarter."
Rolling Meadows started out poorly and trailed 17-5 after the first quarter.
Buffalo Grove opened up a 27-11 lead with 2:18 left in the first half on Conner Reid's basket.
The Mustangs' Hank Holm helped set the tone for the second half when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt as the half ended.
The junior guard sank all 3 free throws to cut the lead to 29-18 at the break.
Trailing 31-20 after a basket by BG's Joey Pinakidis (13 points, 10 rebounds), the Mustangs went on a 12-0 run to forge a 32-31 lead with 2:00 left in the quarter on Ryan Laboda's 2 free throws.
The Bison fought back to take a 46-41 lead with 2:30 left in the game.
Rolling Meadows used a 10-2 run to take a lead at 51-48 with :13 left on 2 Schoessling free throws.
On an inbounds pay with :02 left, Hans Haller banked in a 3 to tie the game as regulation expired.
Controversy followed when Nate Woten scored on what was first ruled a 3-point basket with 1:33 left in the first overtime. Several possessions later the referees conferred during a timeout with :35 left and changed it to 2-pointer, tying the game at 55.
Matt Wojcik's shot at the buzzer fell short to send the game to the second overtime.
The Mustangs scored all of their points form the free throw line (10-for-14) to close out the win. Rolling Meadows finished 25-for-43 at the line while the Bison shot 10-for-20.
"I'm proud of our kids that they kept battling after such a poor start," said Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich. "There was great attitude on the bench. Jared showed some good moves with some ball fakes that got him to the free throw line. Holm knows his role and he played terrific on both ends of the floor."
So how do the Mustangs avoid slow starts?
"We didn't come out ready to play," said Murphy. "We can't dig holes for ourselves if we want to win. Tonight I had to take what the defense gave me and I was able to make some shots. I think as a team we shot our free throws well in the second overtime."