Grayslake North in hot Fox Division pursuit

A first-place finish in the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division would be a first for Grayslake North.

And with four games left, it's well within reach for the Knights.

They're just a game behind Prairie Ridge after an exhilarating battle between the two contenders earlier this week.

Grayslake North (11-8, 5-3 FVC Fox) narrowly lost a 49-48 decision in a game that featured the winning shot hitting the bottom of the net with 1 second left. Host Prairie Ridge (6-2 Fox), which lost to the Knights earlier in the season in Grayslake by 10 points, also hit buzzer beaters at the end of the second and third quarters.

"It was such a great game and a great atmosphere," Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh said. "It's unfortunate either team had to lose.

"But I think it indicates how close both of us are. Even in our games against other teams in the division, our scores against those teams have been very similar to Prairie Ridge's scores against those same teams. We're two teams with pretty equal talent."

Then again, the Knights haven't given up on the idea that they could be the better team at the end, and sit atop the division standings for what would be their first FVC Fox Division title.

Grayslake North has finished second in the division standings, but never as the champ.

"This group is headstrong and confident in themselves and they want to step up rather than shy away from the challenge," Grunloh said. "By no means do they think the conference race is over. It will be interesting to see how they respond."

Grayslake North hosts Hampshire at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

More, please:

Very rarely does a coach have to remind a player to shoot the ball.

Sometimes Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh finds himself in that position with junior point guard Bobby Krebs.

"He's a point guard, a facilitator and Bobby wants to get everyone involved in the offense, but sometimes he's not thinking about himself enough," Grunloh said. "We want him to shoot. I'm always telling him that he's not shooting enough."

There's good reason for that message.

Krebs is the most accurate 3-point shooter on the team. He's hit nearly 50 percent of his attempts (27-of-55) and against Prairie Ridge earlier this week, he knocked down four 3-pointers. Krebs finished with 14 points.

"Bobby has a great 3-point shot," Grunloh said. "I just keep telling him that he's got the green light and the last three or four games, it seems like he's buying into that."

Since Grayslake North competed in a Martin Luther King tournament in downstate Washington last month, Krebs has raised his scoring average from about 6 points a game to around 10 points per game.

Attaboy:

With senior guard Dom DiProva still recovering from a serious thigh bruise, Grayslake North was looking for some offensive production from elsewhere.

The Knights got it in senior forward Eli Atwater.

In a recent win over Hampshire, Atwater rolled up 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds. That was a part of a three-game stretch of double-figures for Atwater. In the last five games, Atwater has averaged 13 points per game, a significant increase from the 2 points per game he had been averaging on the season.

"Eli has done an outstanding job," Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh said. "He's always been a good defender and rebounder for us, but now he's finding ways to score. He's scoring off of rebounds and he's also leading us in transition. He's really good at running the floor and we're finding him for layups."

DiProva, who has been playing, just not at 100 percent, is getting closer to full health.

On back-to-back plays last month against Grayslake Central, DiProva was kneed in the thigh.

"It was weird because it happened in the exact same spot on his thigh," Grunloh said. "Dom hasn't been at 100 percent and his scoring has dropped off a bit, so it's been great to have had guys like Eli step up. We think Dom's getting close, though. He was told it would be about three to four weeks until he would feel himself again and it's just about been that long."

DiProva, who was averaging about 15 points per game before his injury, has been held to about 5 to 6 points in recent games.