Libertyville takes first victory from Highland Park
Libertyville was playing takeaway from Highland Park early in Saturday's contest at the Joe Majkowski Thanksgiving tourney at St. Viator.
The Wildcats had 6 first-half steals, and it kept them in the game against the Giants despite some cold shooting.
Libertyville trailed only 23-22 at intermission, then kept the defensive pressure on in the second half.
The Wildcats overtook Highland Park in the fourth quarter behind 2 clutch 3-pointers from Ryan Wittenbrink to score their first victory of the year after four straight defeats at the Viator tournament.
The Wildcats won 44-39.
"In our first few losses we've had some defensive lapses," said Libertvyille junior Drew Peterson. "Today we noticed that they were not handling the pressure well, so we tried to get on the ball and create some transition points."
Peterson, a 6-foot-7 guard, posted a solid line on the day with 7 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Senior guard Brandon Rule led the winners with 13 points.
"It's nice to get a win," said Wildcats coach Brent Mork. "We haven't been playing bad, but we've faced some tough teams so far. It's fun to see the kids learn how important every possession can be."
Rule scored 7 points in a sluggish first quarter, but the Wildcats picked up the pace late in the second.
First, forward Riley Gowens fed Rule for a backdoor reverse layup, then Drew Fortini hit a 3 to bring Libertyville to within 1 at the break.
The Wildcats continued the trend on "D" after halftime as they held the Giants to 6 points, and a 3-pointer by Colin Fields gave them a 32-29 lead heading into the final period.
Libertyville finished only 7-for-27 from behind the 3-point line, but Wittenbrink nailed 2 important ones from the left corner, back to back, as the Wildcats opened up a 6-point fourth-quarter lead.
"Our shots weren't falling," said Wittenbrink, "but we just keep shooting. We have confidence."
Highland Park made things tense at the end, mostly because of the stellar play of junior guard Ziv Tal. He scored a game high 19 points, and his 3-point basket with 20 seconds left brought the Giants to within 42-39.
Late free throws from Libertyville, including 2 critical ones from Harrison Bach, put the game away.
Tal misfired on a final 3-point attempt with just a few ticks remaining and Peterson grabbed his final rebound to secure the win.
Wittenbrink scored 11 points, and Fields pitched in with 6.
Senior guard Drew Fortini added 5 points, all in the second quarter, to help the Wildcats get in the win column.
"We're a young team," said Mork, "and we've got some new players, but we've also got some good shooters. I love these guys and they play with a lot of confidence."