advertisement

Peterson, Libertyville turn back Zion-Benton

On Brandon Rule's lone 3-pointer of the contest, the Libertyville lead was an astounding 18 points over a very good boys basketball club from Zion-Benton.

And then the Wildcats got a heavy dose of Mr. Baltimore.

As in Zion's 6-foot-5 senior, Kienan Baltimore. He scored 20 of his game-high 33 points in the second half as the Zee-Bees cut that lead down to a single basket in the final minute.

Free throw shooting, which has plagued the Cats at times this season, came through on Friday night as Libertyville was able to hold on and beat Zion-Benton 70-65 in North Suburban Lake play.

"He's really good,'' said Libertyville coach Brent Mork of Baltimore. "He's a tough matchup both inside and outside."

Zion-Benton had exactly one lead all night long. It was at 5-4 at the six-minute mark of the opening quarter.

That's about when Libertyville 6-5 sophomore guard Drew Peterson (24 points) and his team began to make their move.

"From the get-go, we moved the ball so well tonight,'' Peterson said. "We found the open guys and we didn't turn the ball over. I think we had 5 turnovers in the first half."

Peterson and Paul Steinhaus (14 points) traded baskets as the Cats built up a double-digit lead in the first quarter. A Steinhaus 3 moved the Cats' lead up to 22-10. In fact, Steinhaus closed three of the four quarters with baskets.

"We took care of the basketball tonight,'' Mork said. "When we do that, we can be tough."

Libertyville (13-9, 5-5) held tight to the lead in the second quarter. Peterson opened it with a 3-pointer. Drew Fortini joined in on the fun with a 5-point run that included another 3. Steinhaus closed the first half with a drive to the hoop and the Cats' lead was 39-27.

Fortini hit another 3-pointer to open the second half. After the lead got as high as 18 (47-29), the Zee-Bees began to find the range.

This time, the Zee-Bees hit the final shot of the third quarter, a 3 from Roderick Henry-Hayes, and suddenly the Zee-Bees were within 52-46 at the end of the third quarter.

"It got very close,'' Peterson said. "Earlier in the season, we didn't close out games. We weren't making our free throws. Now, we are just about making them all."

The Cats made only 3 field goals in the final quarter. That's because Libertyville spent most of the quarter on the free throw line. Peterson made all 6 of his free throws in the fourth quarter.

Zion-Benton did not go away quietly.

Baltimore's 3-pointer in the final minute cut the Libertyville lead to 64-60. The last 3-pointer of the night belonged to Zion's Damarquis Henry, and it cut the lead to 67-65 with 21 seconds to play - but that's as close as the Zee-Bees got.

Libertyville's inside power, Ben Kimpler had 6 points and 10 rebounds.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.