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Another tough setback for Grayslake North at Prairie Ridge

For a basketball team that had not lost all season, the pain sure felt familiar.

Playing on Prairie Ridge's court last winter, Grayslake North lost on a buzzer-beater, costing the Knights a potential shot at winning the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championship.

Tuesday night, Prairie Ridge prevailed again on its home floor, rallying in the second half behind the hot shooting of Christopher Bradshaw and Payton Otto to pull away from the Knights and capture a 71-53 win.

The loss was the first this season for Grayslake North (12-1, 5-1) and, more importantly, knocked the Knights out of first place in the division, as Prairie Ridge improved to 14-3 and 5-0.

"It's not a fun feeling, considering the fact that we lost conference here last year," Grayslake North guard Bobby Krebs said. "It's opening some old wounds."

Bradshaw and Otto delivered the hurt, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively. They combined to sink nine of the Wolves' 11 3-pointers. Bradshaw hit six 3s, including all five of his attempts from beyond the arc in the second half.

Prairie Ridge hit nine 3s in the second half after going into halftime down 30-26.

"I know a few of them were open, but Bradshaw hit some that were definitely not open," Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh said. "You know on their home court, the way they shoot it, that's always a possibility."

Bradshaw, who shot 2 of 7 (one 3-pointer) in the first half, heated up early in the second half and never cooled down. His 3 from the top of the key one minute into the third gave the Wolves their first lead, 31-30, and by quarter's end, the home team was up 47-43. While Bradshaw sank two 3-pointers in the third, Otto was even more deadly. The senior guard hit a trio of 3s, scoring 11 points in the quarter.

Bradshaw then took over in the fourth, burying three more 3-pointers.

"I even hit his hand once," Krebs said. "It should have been a foul. It was ticky-tack, but he still hit it. He just wasn't missing. Same with Payton. They're both great players."

Prairie Ridge even got a 3 from backup Cory Lamb in the fourth. Aidan Einloth (18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) scored on a putback to pull Grayslake North within 56-51 with 4:53 left. But Bradshaw answered with a 3 that started a 9-0 run, which put the game away.

"We just like to attack the ball and get to the rim," Bradshaw said. "Our drivers were doing that tonight and kicking it out. Payton and I take about 30-40 minutes in practice taking those shots. Tonight, we were just feeling it. Credit my teammates for getting me the ball."

Prairie Ridge used a zone, or what the Wolves like to call a ball press, to make Grayslake North earn its points on the perimeter. The Wolves also took 5 charges.

"The tempo was never really what we wanted after the first 4-5 minutes," said Grunloh, whose Knights led 17-10 after the first quarter. "We just got real passive."

Jamal Thomas added 12 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds for Grayslake North. Krebs finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

"They're a great team," Bradshaw said. "We knew they hadn't lost yet, so we knew we had to bring our game and bring our energy. We prepared for them well this week."

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