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Libertyville pulls away with Rte. 176 decision over Carmel

Throw out the records when these two get together on the hardwood.

Actually, both teams happen to be enjoying pretty successful campaigns to this point, so it made for an even more entertaining contest when Carmel Catholic headed down Rte. 176 to take on Libertyville in nonconference action on Tuesday night.

Only bad thing about it was Drew Peterson and the guys were waiting for the Corsairs, and they didn't disappoint a raucous crowd.

"These are fun games to be a part of because of the rivalry and competitive nature," said coach Brian Zyrkowski, whose Wildcats pulled away for a 67-55 victory. "But this was a dogfight. They (Carmel Catholic) are well coached, they made their free throws, and they did a great job of getting to our interior because they have so many weapons."

After a layup by Carmel junior guard DaMone Williams-Gray started the contest, Libertyville promptly answered with a 12-0 run that was capped by Peterson's 3-point play and a 12-2 edge with 3:11 left in the first.

Peterson ended up with 5 of his game-high 30 points, and senior guard Grant Bair added 4 as the Cats doubled the lead to 16-8 after the opening act.

"We knew that they (Carmel) was motivated and ready to play, so that run in the first was huge," said Peterson, who shot 10 of 18 from the field while also snagging 10 rebounds. "We knew we had to try and put them out early."

That would have been the case, especially after Peterson went nuts in the second to the tune of 12 points that helped stake Libertyville (10-5) to 32-25 advantage at intermission.

Only Carmel (11-6) wasn't going anywhere just yet.

Senior guard Zion Kilpatrick (7 points) canned a trey and Williams-Gray a layup to start the third and close the gap to 32-30. But a Peterson trey upped the lead to 5 again at 35-30.

Carmel got within 2 points one last time after a 3-pointer by senior guard Matt Brolley had trimmed the lead to 35-33 with 6:16 left in the third.

But Libertyville erased any further thoughts by ending the period on a 13-4 spree and 48-39 lead heading to the fourth.

"We were a little scared there," said Peterson, who was guarded by Carmel junior guard Johnny Roeser. "We got a little lax and they were hitting their shots, but we made adjustments and we had so many other guys step up for us."

True.

With Peterson relatively quiet in the third, Cats junior guard Josh Steinhaus hit for 8 of his 17 points and senior forward Chase Eyre was big on the glass. Eyre finished with 8 points on the night.

"We knew it would be a tough game and we were a little tired from playing last night. But we gave it everything we had and I can't ask for more," said Carmel coach Zach Ryan. "We've been playing well this year and have great balance with four guys averaging double figures. We just didn't have that extra gear tonight, especially in the end. But we were right there with them."

Roeser scored 12 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, going 11 of 11 from the foul line.

The biggest lead for the Cats was 60-45 after a one-handed flush by Peterson with 3:06 left in the game.

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