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Vernon Hills celebrates regional triumph

Maybe it wasn't the most inspiring film of all time. However, it might have helped push the point across.

Vernon Hills coach Matt McCarty chose last year's regional loss to Carmel to show to his troops on the long team trip to the Ridgewood Class 3A regional title game against Antioch in Norridge.

The main theme of that cinematic effort was, it's not much fun to lose.

So when team scoring leader Robby Nardini (17 points) opened Friday night's title match with a 3-pointer, it looked like it would be Vernon Hills' night.

And it turned out to be, though in this third meeting of these teams, they went to the fourth quarter knotted up at 31-31.

Vernon Hills (27-4) was able to pull out a 52-46 win - one for the history books, as it's the program's first regional triumph.

Matt Weaver hit two of his three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and led all scorers with 19 points.

"Beating a team three times is the hardest thing to do,'' Weaver said. "This is our first-ever regional title, and it feels great. This group of seniors has never had a losing season. So it wouldn't feel right if we had lost here."

On back-to-back scores from Nardini and Weaver, the Vernon Hills lead had reached 21-11 midway through the second quarter. However, on a strong second-quarter finish from Antioch forward Weston Fox (12 points, 9 rebounds), Antioch (10-17) had reduced the Vernon Hills lead to 26-20 at halftime.

"They have a team of fighters,'' Weaver said. "They were down by 6 points and kept scrapping for the ball."

No, the Sequoits didn't make things easy for the Cougars.

"They play a lot of juniors,'' said Vernon Hills senior Sam Rattner. "They remind me of us last year. Antioch will be great next year."

Nardini landed his last 3-pointer to open the third-quarter scoring. The Cougars did not shoot well in the quarter and only scored 5 points. When they did miss, Fox was there for the rebounds.

"He was a tight end in football,'' said Antioch coach Jim White. "We need to keep him working hard. He gives us a big presence."

Kyle Gofron and Nathan Borries hit back-to-back 3s to knot it up heading to the fourth quarter. Borries' shot appeared to bounce over the basket but somehow dropped back into the net.

Weaver's 3 -point play opened the fourth quarter scoring. This time, it was Trevor Koch who landed yet another 3-pointer for Antioch and the game was tied again at 34-34.

"We knew this wasn't going to be easy,'' McCarty said. "Antioch was dominating around the glass. We had some great hustle plays. I'm proud of our effort."

White knew his team was the underdog but his team certainly played hard.

"We know if we play them 10 times, we might be able to win once,'' White said.

The last time these teams met, Vernon Hills prevailed in overtime.

Rattner landed his lone 3-pointer in the final quarter and it gave the Cougars some breathing room.

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