Mobley helps Grant protect NSC Prairie lead
It hurt Round Lake boys basketball when James Mobley transferred following his freshman year.
It pained the Panthers again Friday night when, playing against his old school, Mobley put down a breakaway dunk with 31 seconds left in the first half and then beat the buzzer with a putback to give Grant a 22-point advantage.
"It was pretty hyped in (the locker room)," Bulldogs guard Kyle Dupree said.
Mobley served as a constant reminder all night about what could have been for Round Lake. The 6-foot-3 senior forward had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks, as Grant coasted to a 76-53 win, keeping the Bulldogs undefeated in the North Suburban Prairie Division.
"His athleticism is something you can't teach," Grant coach Wayne Bosworth of Mobley, who made honorable mention all-conference for Round Lake three years ago, played varsity for Libertyville as a sophomore and then transferred to Grant heading into his junior year. "He's got a man's body on him. I just wish we would have had him for four years."
Dupree scored 12 of his game-high 14 points coming off the bench in the first half. Andy Kaye added 12 points and 8 rebounds, and Ben Kusiak contributed 10 points for Grant, which improved to 10-9 and 6-0 in the NSC Prairie.
"We just work well as a team together," Dupree said. "We've been playing with each other since sixth grade and have chemistry with each other."
Grant never trailed, bolting to a 7-0 lead thanks in part to a three-point play by John Kerr (7 points, 7 rebounds) to open the scoring and then his layup off a dish from point guard Logan Lewis (7 points). The Bulldogs closed the opening quarter with a 9-0 run to lead 23-5. The jacked-up home team went into halftime up 41-19 after Mobley's buzzer-beater.
"We didn't come out ready to play," coach Jeremy Fisher said after his Panthers dropped to 3-15 and 0-7 in the NSC Prairie. "They got that lead and it was hard for us to claw back in it at any point. We missed some shots and didn't get some rebounds."
While the outcome was never in doubt after the opening quarter, that was not the case when the teams met at Round Lake on Dec. 9, as Grant won just 65-64.
"That's a much better team than what we saw back in December," Fisher said.
"They're all juniors. That's why (they've gotten better)," Bosworth said of his players. "They're just adapting quick and learning quick. They're fast learners. They're great kids."
Zach Kuligoski, who was coming off a 23-point effort against Lake Forest, led Round Lake with 13 points, going 9 of 12 from the foul line. Michael Green sat out almost the entire second quarter with 3 fouls and was held to 7 points.
Grant knows protecting its first-place status in the NSC Prairie won't be easy. The Bulldogs host North Chicago a week from Saturday night and then visit the Warhawks 11 days later. The schedule also includes games against Vernon Hills and Lakes, both of which will be looking to avenge defeats.
"One game at a time," Bosworth said. "Our guys are young. We have one senior that plays for us in James. We're just focused on getting better - and these guys have."