'Dom'-inant effort as Grayslake North upsets Grayslake Central
Joey Swanson knew all about his future Grayslake North basketball teammate Dominic Jankowski. That's because when a kid drops in 53 points in a feeder game, so the story goes, people hear about it.
Swanson, who on Wednesday plans to sign to play college football for Dayton, knows athletic talent when he sees it.
"He came in [during] the summer league, and he was hoopin' and he was getting buckets," Swanson said of Jankowski. "I knew he was going to be a good player for us."
A Day-1 starter for Grayslake North's varsity, Jankowski has been a good scorer all season for the Knights. But he saved the best performance of his freshman season for none other than Grayslake Central. His season-high 30 points led Grayslake North to a 47-39 upset of the visiting Rams on Tuesday night, cooling off the hottest team in the Northern Lake County Conference and avenging an earlier-season loss.
Center Grant Hardy led Grayslake Central with a career-high 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
"It was a great game," said Jankowski, whose team played one of its best games of the season.
Grayslake Central, which came in with a season-best seven-game winning streak and in sole possession of first place in the NLCC, fell to 12-9 and 6-2 in the conference.
"We haven't had to fight this hard to win a game," said Grayslake North coach Todd Grunloh, whose Knights had lost three in a row. "We felt like at times we've fought hard and ended up on the other side."
Grayslake North improved to 7-13 and 3-5.
"We know that Grayslake North's record isn't a reflection of how good they are," Grayslake Central coach Brian Centella said. "They've lost close games, they've been up and down a little bit, but, man, when they're 'on,' they're as explosive and as talented as any team in our conference. They were prepared, they were well-coached, and they played their butts off. All the credit goes to Grayslake North. They really brought it to us."
Both teams came after each other defensively in the first half, leading to a grand total of 21 points being scored in the opening 16 minutes. The Rams led 11-10 at the break.
Finally, a player got hot offensively, and it was Jankowski. The 6-foot-1 shooting guard scored 16 points in the third quarter, draining four of his five 3-pointers. The final 3 of the third by the 15-year-old beat the buzzer and had the Knights up 30-18.
His teammates on the bench had an up-close look at the clutch shot and mobbed him.
"My teammates were driving in, and they were kicking it out to me," Jankowski said of his third-quarter heroics. "I was open, and I was hitting shots."
Jankowski wasn't hitting much in the first half, going 2 of 7 from the floor, including 0 of 4 from the arc.
"I changed my attitude in the locker room," Jankowski said. "I told myself that I was going to hit the 3s."
Grayslake Central got as close as 4 points in the fourth and pulled within 41-37 on a 3-pointer by Dillan Dumanlang (8 points) with 30 seconds left. But Jankowski answered with 2 free throws and then two more with 13 seconds to go.
He swished his last free throw, point No. 30.
"It's been a learning curve [with Jankowski]," Grunloh said. "He's had some big ups in games, and then there have been times where he's [played] like a freshman on varsity. He's still adjusting to the physicality of it, but he's a talented kid."
Jamon Thomas added 9 points for the Knights, sinking 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth. Tony Hines had 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. Jason Donohue took 2 charges.
"Some of their more veteran guys - Thomas, Donohue, Tony Hines - maybe they didn't have their best games offensively," Centella said. "But, man, they were pitbulls on defense."