Better result this time for Libertyville, Steinhaus

Last March, playing against Libertyville in a sectional semifinal on his home court, J.R. Cison was "on." But then, so was Lake Zurich's boys basketball team.

So on went the Bears, all the way to a Class 4A supersectional. Cison scored a team-high 16 points, as Lake Zurich eliminated Libertyville and ended the great high school career of Rice-bound Drew Peterson.

Josh Steinhaus guarded Cison that night.

"Josh played good defense," Wildcats coach Brian Zyrkowski said. "But Cison is a heck of a player."

So his Steinhaus, who got his chance to play against Cison again on Friday night. Steinhaus scored a game-high 21 points and held Cison to 2 points in the first half, as Libertyville built a 16-point lead at the break en route to a 67-57 win over the visiting Bears in North Suburban Conference action.

Steinhaus remembers Cison scoring off ball screens and draining pullup, midrange jumpers in the teams' sectional semifinal at Lake Zurich last season.

"So I made sure I stopped that midrange jumper today," said Steinhaus, who was knocking down his own jumpers (5-of-9 shooting, two 3-pointers). "I wanted to guard him, obviously, because he knocked us out last year."

Cison, who Steinhaus describes as "very shifty" on the court, finished with 14 points and was one of the four Bears to score in double figures. Will Tucker's 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals led Lake Zurich. But Libertyville (4-6, 2-2) also featured balance, as Brian Wilterdink added 16 points and 6 rebounds, while Travis Clark and Jackson Watson each sank three 3-pointers and finished with 9 points each.

"They got some guys that can hurt you," Bears coach Terry Coughlin said.

The loss was the sixth in a row for Lake Zurich (2-7, 0-4), but the first-year coach was encouraged.

"That was our best effort of the year," Coughlin said. "There were a lot of really good things. We gave up two stretches of 17 points in about 2½ minutes. Obviously you can't take those back. We're at the point where we got to get the effort to be consistent. And then can we start scheming and eliminating and understanding how to play with each other more?"

Tucker's buzzer-beating jumper had Lake Zurich within 10-9 after one quarter, but a pair of 3s from both Clark and Watson had Libertyville up 34-18 at halftime.

"I thought our guys tonight came out with a lot more energy," said Zyrkowski, whose Wildcats had dropped back-to-back games in NSC play to Waukegan and Warren. "I think we've had pretty good starts the last couple of games. We talked about finishing. I thought Lake Zurich did a nice job coming out in the second half with more intensity, but our guys sustained, and we kept to our game plan."

Libertyville also got a boost off the bench from 6-foot-3 junior Patrick Graham, who grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 6 points, including a pair of baskets on putbacks. Graham didn't even play in the first quarter.

"His energy has been great," Zyrkowski said. "He brings athleticism. He's one of those fliers. He gets up there for that rebound and you're like, 'Wow, how did he just do that?' He's a super athlete, and he's just getting better and better."

Matt McGraw came off Lake Zurich's bench to score 13 points, including a dunk, and grabbed 5 rebounds. Austin LePage had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, for the Bears, who are back at it Saturday when they host Barrington at 5:30 p.m.

Progress, despite another loss for the Bears?

"For us," Coughlin said, "that was big progress."