Prospect gets MSL title-game nod
When the season started, the Prospect boys basketball team knew it was young and did not have much experience. Most predictions had the Knights projected for the middle of the pack in the Mid-Suburban East.
But on Friday night at Jean Walker Field House, Prospect walked away with their seventh division title in the last nine years with a 57-46 win over a stubborn Buffalo Grove team.
Prospect shared the East title with Elk Grove as both team finished with 8-2 records. But the Knights won the tiebreaker with the Grens and will travel to Conant for the Mid-Suburban League title game on Wednesday.
"We used the prediction as a motivation for us," said Prospect guard Frankie Mack, who scored 15 points. "This was just a huge win for us. We were upset when we lost last week (at Elk Grove) and we needed to win this one. This just feels great. I've dreamed about a night like this for along time."
Mack had plenty of help in Matt Szuba and Michel Ritchie.
Szuba came off the bench on senior night to score 10 points, snare 10 rebounds and hand out 3 timely assists.
Ritchie came off the bench in the second quarter and finished with 9 points.
"I thought we really played well as a team tonight," said Szuba. "The chemistry was there. I played well because my other teammates were in the right position to help me make the plays.
"We were confident that we could win the division from day one, and now we're here."
Buffalo Grove's Colin Calcagno (12 points) hit four 3s to keep the Knights (14-9, 8-2) in range through most of the first half.
The last Bison lead was 13-12 with 3:12 left in the first quarter on a Calcagno 3.
David Swedura hit back-to-back baskets, and a putback by Grant Whitebloom gave the Knights a 18-13 lead after one quarter.
Szuba helped lead a 9-3 run with 5 points and 2 assists to increase a 23-19 lead to 32-22 with 1:21 left in the first half.
Back-to-back baskets by sophomore center Mac Camardo pulled the Bison to 39-35 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.
Buffalo Grove (9-16, 3-7) then went cold, and Prospect finished the quarter with a 12-2 run for a 51-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Mack scored 7 points in the run.
"I thought we played hard the whole game," said Buffalo Grove coach Keith Peterson. "The shots that fell for us early didn't fall in the second half. But I am pleased about they way we are progressing as a team."
Prospect coach John Camardella, too, was pleased with the collective play from his team.
"Talk about a team effort," said Camardella. "We really had the ball moving tonight. On defense we hung in there with all the runs Buffalo Grove made at us.
"Frankie made some real good decisions with the ball, and both he and Szuba made some really big shots when we needed them. They were both very steady. To win this was just great for the players of this team."