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Lake Park can feel good despite defeat

I guess you'd have to say Lake Park's boys basketball team went down charging.

It's the ultimate compliment to pay the Lancers, who all season long used ultra-gritty defense, methodical-yet-timely offense and stunning gamechanging plays to win the program's first sectional title.

When the scoreboard finally went dark Tuesday night at Northern Illinois University's Convocation Center, all you could do was tip your cap to Lake Park despite a heartbreaking 57-52 double-overtime loss to Geneva in the Class 4A supersectional.

"There's certain games you win that you don't feel good about, and there's certain games you lose that you feel OK about," said Lancers coach Josh Virostko. "Not only do I feel OK even though we didn't win tonight, I feel great about how these guys played. As a coach I couldn't ask for anything more."

Geneva (30-3) had a chance to win in regulation, but the Lancers took a charge to send the game to the first overtime. The Lancers took another charge to start the extra period, epitomizing the way this team played through DuPage Valley Conference, Wheeling Hardwood Classic, regional and sectional title runs.

Championships, they say, are won with defense and Lake Park (25-7) proved it this season with a trunkload of hardware. Stinging defense and a bunch of moxie took the Lancers within a whisker of the state semifinals.

Even when Geneva split four free throws to take a 45-42 lead with 5.9 seconds left in the first overtime, Lake Park shockingly tied the game when DVC player of the year Marcus McDaniel somehow knocked down a 3-pointer after Stefan Meccia inbounded him the ball to him with just 0.5 seconds on the clock.

Talk about Lake Park basketball. It was the ultimate refuse-to-lose moment.

"The utmost respect for them," Vikings guard Pace Temple said of the Lancers. "They came in and it was kind of a game of chess. It really came down to less of us trying to impact them and just us focusing on our own stuff."

The Lancers actually began this run by making a surprise appearance in last year's regional final with an upset win over Oak Park.

Eight seniors saw game time Tuesday night: Connor Vance, Cameron Van Aswegen, Meccia, McDaniel, Michael Karas, Mitch Jarosinski, Chris Filip and Tim Weiss. This is the way you expect seniors to perform in the biggest game in program history, and then there was junior Danny Hynes knocking down four 3-pointers, including two in the second overtime.

Just when you thought Geneva had victory in the bag, the Lancers kept coming back to send their massive fan base into a frenzy.

"It was exciting," Van Aswegen said. "It was nerve-wracking playing in front of so many people, which we've never done before. I think everyone was scared going into the game because of how big they were, but once we actually started playing with them we realized we shouldn't be scared of anyone."

Not many folks outside of Lancer Nation knew about Lake Park this season, and that's a shame. It would have been great to watch the Lancers introduce themselves to a statewide audience this weekend in Peoria.

It didn't happen for Lake Park, but Geneva will be a worthy Final Four squad. The Vikings earned that spirited postgame celebration with their fans.

For much of Tuesday night's crowd, however, the game will be remembered for Lake Park's amazing survival skills and a group of players who never quit.

Right up until the final buzzer, the Lancers just kept charging.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit

Images: Geneva advances to state with a 2OT victory, 57-52 over Lake Park

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