Gutke's a hit as Antioch blocks out Round Lake

After two winters of not playing competitive basketball to focus on whether he wanted to smack quarterbacks or baseballs, Antioch's Ben Gutke wanted to give hoops one last shot his senior year.

He quickly earned a starting position, and Wednesday night at Round Lake he barely had time to take a breather.

"I'm glad I'm back (playing basketball)," said Gutke, a linebacker/kicker who has an official visit to Drake this weekend for football. "I missed the guys on the team. It's a lot of fun to be back. I don't regret it at all."

Antioch's basketball coaches love having Gutke back. His double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds helped the Sequoits outlast Round Lake 53-42 in a Northern Lake County Conference game that was a battle of attrition.

Antioch (6-7, 2-2) was minus starting guard Branden Gallimore (walking pneumonia), Peter Boeh (hip), John Petty (ankle) and Nick Galante (scholarship dinner).

Sophomore shooter Dan Filippone had 17 points, including two 3-pointers, for Antioch.

"Crazy stuff the last couple of days," Sequoits coach Jim White said after playing only six guys. "We went from being deep - in a great spot and healthy and getting after it - to being thin really quick."

Round Lake (2-12, 0-4) was missing leader scorer and rebounder Zach Kuligoski (18 ppg, 8 rpg). A 6-foot-5 senior, Kuligoski is attending his brother Ben's graduation from basic training in San Diego. Ben, who played for the Panthers last season, is in the Marines. Zach will also miss Round Lake's contest against Wauconda on Saturday night.

"We missed him tonight with what he's been able to provide for us this year," said coach Jeremy Fisher, whose Panthers trailed only 36-32 with less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter. "But our other guys played pretty well. We had some good opportunities and good possessions. A couple of them got away from us in the third quarter. But I'm pretty proud of the way the guys came out and stepped up without Zach."

Round Lake junior guard Chris Pierre had a game-high 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals. Lucas Hollingsworth added 12 points and 7 boards for the Panthers.

"(Pierre) is a good player," Fisher said. "He's been trying to find his rhythm, and tonight he got it going early a little bit. (Antioch) really keyed in on him in the second half."

Pierre scored 13 points in the first half, helping the home team stay within 23-22 at the break. Andrew Hare's tenacious defense helped hold Pierre to 2 second-half goals, one of which was a three-point play thanks to a steal and layup.

"He busts his butt," White said of Hare, who also scored 10 points (two 3s). "He gets after it. He's not afraid of getting hit."

Gutke would know. He also played football with Hare.

"Football or basketball, I would not want to have him guard me," Gutke said. "He never stops. As soon as you think there's a dead moment, he's all up on you, and you're not getting the ball."

With no Kuligoski, Gutke and teammate Reece Eldridge dominated the boards. Eldridge had 8 points and 13 rebounds.

"(Kuligoski) and Reece are a good matchup," White said. "(Round Lake) was a different team without him. That was a big hit for them."