Antioch gets the message, handles Vernon Hills
On the dry-erase board inside the Antioch locker room, coach Jim White wrote the word "Pride" as a reminder to the Sequoits players about how they should be playing.
"We wrote that up on the board and I think we broke the huddle 6 or 7 times in the second half saying, 'Pride,' " White said. "It's a reminder that we want to, and should be playing like that, every time out."
The prideful effort was most evident from the host Sequoits in the second half of their North Suburban Conference Prairie Division contest as Antioch limited Vernon Hills to 23 second-half points, including just 6 in the third quarter.
That stingy defense, combined with the hot shooting of junior Reece Eldridge, lifted Antioch to a 54-45 win over Vernon Hills on Friday night. The win snaps a 5-game losing streak for Antioch (7-12, 2-5) while Vernon Hills (10-11, 4-2) saw a two-game win streak stopped.
Antioch saw its fortunes change in the second half and in the third quarter, after Vernon Hills controlled the tempo and the scoreboard with a 22-17 halftime advantage.
"I think all the coaches got in different players' ears at halftime," White said. "It wasn't panic or out of control or anything. Instead it was more about just telling the kids to let the game come to them."
The game certainly found Eldridge and senior Danny Brito - in the third quarter in particular. Eldridge was a key performer in the period, hitting a pair of 3-pointers during a 12-4 run that gave Antioch the lead for good 27-26 with 2:44 left in the period.
Eldridge scored 8 of his game-high 19 points in the quarter as Antioch assumed control, outscoring the Cougars 17-6 in the period.
"My teammates were making some really good drives the basket, leaving me wide open to shoot," said Eldridge who says he has fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered earlier in the season. "It definitely felt good after I hit that first shot."
Even with the third-quarter burst, Vernon Hills was able to whittle the lead to just one possession in the fourth quarter. The Cougars answered the Sequoits' run with an 8-0 surge of their own, pulling within 43-40 with 2:50 left. But the visitors didn't get any closer.
Senior guard Michael Dougherty sparked the Cougars' attack with 14 points, including the 3 that pulled the Cougars within 3.
"(Eldridge) hit a couple threes and that kind of sparked their crowd - Antioch had a great crowd here tonight," Vernon Hills coach Matt McCarthy said. "Antioch really attacked after that and we got a little stagnant."
The attack-mode leader was Brito. While he didn't fill up the score sheet (6 points), his 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals made a big difference.
"(Brito) is a one-man press break," White said. "He went up against a very athletic Vernon Hills team and you saw what he was able to do."
Antioch pulled away for good in the final seconds, with senior Trevor Koch hitting a running layup for 2 of his 14 points.
The Cougars did build as much as a 7-point first-half lead. Senior Jake Helfand was big for the Cougars in the first half, scoring 8 of his 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.