Buffalo Grove improves to 3-0
Buffalo Grove is ready for Stevenson.
They better be. The Bison meet the talented Patriots at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the championship of the Bison Classic.
Both come in 4-0, with Buffalo Grove's most recent win a 66-38 effort against Christian Liberty on Friday night.
"We wanted to make (Saturday) night a championship," said Buffalo Grove coach Keith Peterson of the match-up between schools that are natural geographic rivals.
Buffalo Grove feels confident after showing the depth, poise and defensive prowess that has carried them to this point.
"I was very happy with the way this has gone so far," Peterson said.
He's been getting contributions from all over too. Even without usual leading scorer Jack Vaselaney scoring against Christian Liberty, BG got points from 13 different players.
Zach Fricke, who generally comes off the bench, had 13, including a trio of 3-pointers. The first helped open an 18-5 lead after one quarter. The second helped extend the lead to 35-18 at halftime and the third helped secure things at 52-28 after 3.
Big guys Jordan McDonald and Mac Camardo, who do most of their work around the rim, showed their range, combining for a trio of 3-pointers. Usual sharpshooter Colin Calcagno had 8 points, all in the first quarter, including a 3.
The firepower was too much for Christian Liberty. The Chargers once again went winless in the tournament but won the respect of their opponents and earned the confidence it will when it drops back to Northeastern Athletic Conference play against schools more in line with its own size.
Coach Jed Bennett's players were tough enough to force BG to keep some starters in the game into the fourth quarter.
"That was one of our goals," said Bennett, who noted that his club played better each evening of the round-robin event.
The Chargers (0-4) got sharpshooting galore from 5-foot-7 Jesse Castro (game-high 17 points), who had a trio of 3-pointers. Steve Ringstrand complemented him around the basket with 10 points.
When everyone gets back to healthy, his school of 143 enrollment figures to really compete in the Northeastern Athletic Conference.
"It absolutely makes us better every year," said Bennett, to compete in this tournament against the likes of Buffalo Grove and Stevenson.
Saturday's schedule features Glenbrook South against Grayslake Central with both playing to see which one can finish 2-2 before BG and Stevenson take to the court for the finale.