Prospect falls to Glenbrook North
Glenbrook North coach Dave Weber remember how Prospect was able to dismantle his Spartans a year ago in the state playoffs.
"The beat us last year so bad in the tournament with the three, that we knew we had to get out on their guys, " Weber said. "You can't give them any space. I think our defense was confusing for them. And I think we did a good job."
The score and Prospect's shooting stats from outside the arc will agree as Glenbrook North downed Prospect 57-46 Tuesday in nonconference boys basketball action in Mt. Prospect.
It was a rough evening for Prospect (14-12).
The Knights played pretty much without leading scorer and inside threat Jon Kreidler, who was still feeling the flu bug that hit him hard last Saturday.
Without Kreidler Glenbrook North, which has a front line that is tall and long, the Knights had little to no inside game. That enabled the Spartans (16-10) to get out in the wings more and challenge the Prospect 3-point shooters, limiting the Knights to 22 percent (5-of-23) outside the arc.
"I credit them," Prospect coach John Camardella said. "They were throwing different defenses at us all over the place. They kept us off balance. And without Jon in and around the middle it was difficult."
With Kreidler out and Prospect playing its third game in the last five nights, Camardella went deeper into his bench than he had in quite a while.
"I thought our guys battled back," Camardella said. "We have been as broke tonight as we have been all year. We couldn't hit free throws (3-of-9), couldn't make shots."
Prospect trailed 17-8.
The Knights knocked down a pair of 3s on their way to 8 unanswered points to close to 17-16.
Glenbrook North was then able to spurt further ahead thanks to the play of Frank Siegien (20 points) and Alex Press (19 points). With that duo leading the way, it appeared the Spartans would pull away when they led 46-34 with 5:23 to play.
Prospect got some late energy and closed to 46-41 on a basket by Jack Schneider with 3:27 left. But a turnover changed things for the Knights and Glenbrook North converted 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch.
"Sometimes when we don't hit shots, we have to find a way to win," said Prospect's Ben Miller, who led the Knights with 11 points.
"We just came out flat tonight. We are all battling some sickness and some tired legs, but that's not an excuse not to play hard. We need to play with an edge and we didn't have that tonight."
TJ Johannesen, who finished with 8 points, said the Knights' defense got off to a slow start as well.
"Our defense didn't warm up until the second quarter," Johannesen said.
"They made a lot of shots and made it tough for us."