Good health tops Grayslake North's wish list

Grayslake North basketball players will have their share of presents under the tree come Christmas morning.

But like many of his running mates, sophomore sharpshooting forward Ryan Connolly will tell you what he's wishing for most this holiday, at least when it relates to the hardwood.

"We're still getting used to having to play without them, but we need our two big guys back," he said. "We really miss the size and shooting. We'll be a lot better when they're back out here with us."

Connolly was referring to his older brother James, who was sidelined for the second game in a row Tuesday night at Glenbrook North with a concussion, and 6-foot-4 senior center Louis Lopez, who has been out with a knee injury he suffered earlier this month. Both are expected back in January at some point, according to coach Todd Grunloh.

For now, Ryan Connolly and his teammates are going through some growing pains, as was evident when Glenbrook North used some sharpshooting of its own to pull away for a 71-51 nonconference victory in Northbrook.

The Spartans, who improved to 8-1, converted 14-of-26 shots from three-point range. That included eight 3-pointers by senior guard Evan Barnes, who finished with a game-high 30 points.

"We knew they could shoot outside, and Barnes was as good as advertised," said Grunloh, whose troops fell to 3-7 and now have a couple of weeks off before hosting Carmel on Jan. 3. "We really miss the size and James (Connolly) is 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds) for us. But a game like this helps us grow. We were still in there fighting until the end."

The Knights matched the Spartans basket for basket much of the first eight minutes. Sophomore guard Jamon Thomas had the hot hand early, scoring 6 of his 12 points in the first, as Grayslake North trailed only 14-10.

But then Barnes hit his first three 3s and carried that over into the second quarter. He popped in three more, helping the hosts outscore the Knights 23-12 and take a comfortable 37-22 advantage into halftime.

Ryan Connolly found his touch in the second quarter, scoring 9 of his team-high 20 points to keep his guys within shouting distance.

"This has been a good experience because with my brother out, I'm learning what it's like to be the team leader," Connolly said.

Barnes added two more 3-pointes in the third quarter, when Glenbrook North outscored the Knights 25-13 to lead 62-35 heading to the final stanza.

Connolly hit for 9 more points in the fourth, but substitutions were frequent as the game was much on ice at that point.