Libertyville shoots past Waukegan
The long and short of is, Libertyville's boys basketball team showed Friday that it's quite comfortable with long distances.
The Wildcats nailed 12 three-point baskets and rallied late to knock of Waukegan 61-55 in the semifinals of the 40th annual Wheeling Hardwood Classic.
Libertyville will meet Niles North, which beat Prospect 66-61 in the other semifinal, for the tournament title. The championship game tips off at 8:45 p.m. Saturday.
"Our guys showed grit tonight," said Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski, whose team rallied from a 55-51 deficit with 3:30 to play by holding Waukegan scoreless down the stretch. "We got out-rebounded by a lot. The key rebounds we needed at the end of the game - we got them. It looked like the game was getting away but our guys showed grit."
Libertyville also needed some eagle-eye shooting from outside the arc to get the job done. The Wildcats were 12-for-27 from 3-point range and hit shots when needed.
"This is what makes this team very special," Zyrkowski said. "And that's what makes us difficult to guard. Drew (Peterson) draws lots of attention and we have guys who can knock the 3 down."
Chase Eyre had 4 three-pointers while Josh Steinhaus had 3 and Brandon Simberg added 2. Peterson, who finished with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, had 3 triples.
"When teams double on me, if we have open shooters, we can knock them down," Peterson said. "When that happens, we are not going to lose many games."
Libertyville, which had beaten Waukegan earlier this year, nailed 8 three-pointers in the first half. The Wildcats needed every one of them to take a 36-35 lead at the break.
"Every team's gameplan is to shut down Drew," said Eyre, who drilled 3-point shots on the the Wildcats' first two possessions of the game. "I was lucky enough to be that wide-open guy in the corner. My teammates found me and luckily I was able to knock them down tonight."
Libertyville grabbed big leads twice in the first half, only to watch as Waukegan (7-5) stormed back.
The last run came just before the half when Libertyville scored 8 unanswered points thanks to a pair of 3s by Steinhaus to make it 36-25 with 2:01 left in the half. Waukegan turned up the pressure and forced a pair of turnovers in a 10-0 run to close out the half.
Waukegan surged ahead 41-38 - but the Wildcats went long again to regain the lead.
Eyre blasted home a pair of 3s, Peterson added another and the Wildcats led 47-43 with 2:34 left in the third.
Waukegan then stretched out its zone, forcing a pair of turnovers as the Bulldogs again went on a 10-0 run to lead 53-47 within 6:55 to play.
Travis Clark hit a pair of free throws and Peterson, who was playing with 4 fouls, had a basket on short jumper to make it 53-51 with 3:49 left. Waukegan answered right away with a basket, but that was it for the Bulldogs offensively.
It was Libertyville's turn at a 10-0 run and the Wildcats closed out the game with one. Simberg hit a big three and hit 3 free throws down the stretch and Peterson had a basket and 2 free throws.
"The coaches instill a lot of confidence in me and when they put me in the game I want to show them they are right," Simberg said. "I just stepped and shot when needed."
Eyre finished with 12 points while Simberg and Steinhaus each had 9.
Waukegan was led by Bryant Brown with 24 points and Ja'Dyn Brown with 14.