Libertyville's seniors deliver against Lake Zurich

Closing games has been an issue for Libertyville's boys basketball team.

But on senior night, the Wildcats had no such problem in that area - thanks to the contributions of a couple of seniors.

Paul Steinhaus sealed the game on 2 late free throws, while Ben Kimpler produced a game-high 15 points and 6 rebounds as Libertyville rallied past visiting Lake Zurich 41-40 in a North Suburban Lake Division game on Friday night.

"It's been three in a row for us that we've had chances at the end," Libertyville coach Brent Mork said. "We finally came out on the positive side, on the left side of the column. It's nice to see the guys start to believe and start to understand what it takes to win close-out games - to display the effort, the attitude and togetherness to win games like that."

The Wildcats (14-9, 6-5) trailed 32-22 entering the final quarter. But they outscored the Bears 19-8 in the final period and had the final 9 points over the final two-plus minutes.

"We just started to go inside a lot," Mork said. "(Lake Zurich) got into a little bit of foul trouble and even though we didn't make a lot of free throws, our guys started to believe in energy and it translated into some defense. We just started to make them work harder and finish possessions."

Lake Zurich (18-9, 6-5) struggled down the stretch. The Bears missed their shots and also turned the ball over a couple of times in the final minute. That's something the Bears haven't encountered all season.

"It was a total collapse on our part," Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said. "Turnovers really killed us. We had beaten them by 13 the first time, and we should've beaten them by 13 again. I'm just so shocked and disappointed in our guys that we weren't able to close out the game."

Steinhaus closed out the contest with a pair of free throws with 8.6 seconds left. He had 4 of his 8 points in the final quarter.

"It was huge, and it came right down to it," Steinhaus said. "I knocked them down and that's all it matters. I really didn't have a lot of nerves. I have confidence in myself and believe in myself a lot, maybe more than I should. When I went up there, I had no fear."

Kimpler scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half and he was the go-to-guy in bringing back Libertyville from a 25-13 deficit at the half.

"It would've been better if my free throws were falling," said Kimpler, who was 5-for-12 at the foul line. "Early on, the team tried to get me in the paint, and they were fouling me. It was a matter of me making them. It was frustrating on my part. But when free throws were needed later in the game, I made them."

Lake Zurich was led by Nick Penny with 12 points, while Michael Bens added 11.

This was the second straight loss for the Bears this past week. They lost to the NSC Lake champ Stevenson on Tuesday.

"We played really well in stretches in this one," Pitcher said. "We did make some big 3s in the fourth quarter and got up (by 8 points), but (Libertyville) battled back. It was a big shock that we didn't close it out better. We just have to play smarter."