Buffalo Grove ekes out win over Wheeling

Buffalo Grove was like an experienced marathon runner Friday night at Wheeling, trying to hold off an opponent that just wouldn't stop gaining ground.

But no matter how often the Wildcats would make a run, and no matter how close they got, they could never quite overtake the Bison.

BG scored 20 first-quarter points, then held off Wheeling time after time to claim a 63-62 Mid-Suburban East boys basketball win.

The Bison, playing without 6-foot-2 senior Tom Trieb (out with an injury), used a total team defensive effort to score the victory.

"We needed to rebound a lot better with Tommy not on the floor," said BG junior guard Tyler Kipley, "and on defense he usually guards their bigger guys so we had to adjust defensively."

"We stuck with our zone because of Wheeling's size."

Freshman Kam Craft led the Bison with 21 points, while Michael Best scored 23 for Wheeling.

Joe Jordan finished with 20 points for the Wildcats and teammate Cade Zalewski pitched in with a game-high 13 rebounds.

"Joe was phenomenal tonight," said Wheeling coach Michael O'Keeffe. "This was hands down his best game as a varsity player. And Cade has really committed himself to the weight room. He's the type of kid who goes out and competes his tail off every time out."

Buffalo Grove built leads of double-digits in both the second and third quarters, but each time Wheeling was able to rally and reduce the deficit.

Then the Wildcats battled back again in the final stanza and when Best hit his fifth 3-pointer of the game from the top of the key, Wheeling trailed just 62-59.

"We had such a slow start in the first quarter," said O'Keeffe. "We were down, and you give a good team like Buffalo Grove a cushion right out of the gate, it's tough to come back and win. But I give credit to our kids, they kept playing hard and kept competing."

BG had a rough stretch at the free throw line in the fourth period, hitting only 4-of-11.

But Kipley came up with a big one when it was needed most. His foul shot with 17 seconds remaining in the game put the Bsion up 63-59.

"We had a big lead but we started to give it up," said Kipley. "We had to start knocking down shots, and we were a little inconsistent down the stretch with free throws, but were able to seal the deal down the stretch when it mattered most."

Wheeling got the ball back late, and a long 3 by Best at the buzzer accounted for the final score.

"We tried to keep them from getting many second-chance points," said Kipley as the Bison put forth a superior effort on the offensive and defensive boards in the final minute. "Just contribute to the win by making plays on defense."

Brandon Zettek scored 9 points for Wheeling, while Nate Cole had 19 for BG.

Mike Nowakowski added 12 points for the Bison and Kipley finished with 9.

"We found out about 2 p.m. that Tommy wasn't going to be playing this weekend," said BG coach Keith Peterson. "To learn that and have our guys step up like they did says a lot about the character of this team. I was as proud of them as I've ever been of a team because of they way they fought. Some guys were in different spots and different roles down the stretch, and they handled themselves with composure and got the stops when they needed to."