Crowd-pleasing win as Libertyville edges Waukegan

Now, that celebration rated a full four stars.

Despite warnings, the Libertyville crowd raced on the court on Friday night. It was clearly a time to let go and jump up and down.

The Libertyville lead had hit double digits in the second quarter in this North Suburban Conference clash with Waukegan.

And then with less than with three minutes to play in regulation, that lead was gone. By then it was Waukegan, 69, Libertyville 66.

But this time, the Cats (4-5) held on. Drew Peterson (33 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 consecutive assists in the fourth quarter) was the star of this game. But the key blows came from the back-to-back 3-pointers from Harrison Bach and Chase Eyre. The Cats completed the comeback and won the game at the foul line as Libertyville prevailed 75-71.

"We had such a great crowd tonight,'' Peterson said. "They got us excited. We knew Waukegan would make some runs at us but we had a great offense tonight."

Peterson nailed the game's first 3-pointer and the Cats were off and running. Peterson had 14 of his team's 21 points in the opening quarter

"He's really a good basketball player,'' said Libertyville coach Brent Mork. "But of all of our players were getting Drew into position for his shots."

The second quarter clearly belonged to the home team. On a quick layup from Chase Eyre (12 points), the Cats' lead had hit 15 points (32-17).

Bach joined in the 3-point parade in the second quarter as well.

"I'm very proud of this team,'' Bach said. "We've been in these situations before. We work on our free throw shooting a lot in practice. This is a good conference win."

Just before halftime, Waukegan sophomore, Bryant Brown, ran off a 9-point run by himself. The halftime lead by Libertyville was 43-34.

"We still have only three kids who have varsity experience,'' Mork said. "These games teach you some lessons. Waukegan was the best we've seen as far as defensive intensity."

The Bulldogs spent the third quarter cutting into the Wildcats' lead. Again that Brown kid answered and the margin was now a single point at 53-51.

The final quarter clearly wasn't for the faint of heart. On a 3 from Waukegan's DeShawn Davidson, it was tied at 62-62. Bach's 3 tied the game at 69-69. Eyre's long-distance shot gave the Cats a 72-71 lead. Riley Gowens and Eyre closed the game out on the free throw line.

"That's three in a row for us,'' Peterson said. "We just need to keep on winning."