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Prospect pays homage to Zei; Fremd dumps Broncos

Zach Zei scored 2 points on his senior night for Prospect's boys basketball team on Friday.

They were only 2 points of his two-year varsity career.

That's because Zei never got on the floor for a minute due to illnesses as a junior and a broken leg he suffered in the first week of his senior season.

So it was agreed by both coaches on Friday that Zei would take the opening tip and be allowed to drive for an uncontested layup.

Prospect then reciprocated by letting senior Christian McLaughlin do the same for Wheeling for a 2-2 tie before the real action began.

And things got pretty interesting in the second half at the Jean Walker Field House in Mt. Prospect.

Prospect, which led 40-24 in the third quarter, held on for a 63-59 Mid-Suburban East triumph.

The Knights improved to 13-14 and finished 6-4 in the East, while Wheeling stands at 13-17 and 2-8.

"It was really nice to finally get out there on the floor," said Zei, who played safety as a sophomore and junior on the Prospect varsity football team and then was linebacker this past fall.

"The timing never worked out for basketball. I was healthy the whole football season and then the first week of basketball practice I got hurt."

"It was an absolute freak play," said Prospect coach John Camardella. "I keep replaying it in my head. A pump fake, guy went up and Zach's leg got crumbled underneath.

"The big thing is that our team rallied around him, and I'm really grateful to Mike O'Keefe (Wheeling coach) and his willingness to do that for Zach. He's meant so much for our program, just the type of person he is. It was a cool way for him to get in there for the first time this season."

Prospect shot as well as it has all season in the first half, connecting for seven of its 10 three-pointers.

Senior Steve Mack made three of his four from long range in the first half as the Knights pulled ahead 42-27 at the break.

"We were better in the first half," said Camardella, who went with an all-senior starting lineup. "I don't know if we got a little tighter in the second half or what, but we stayed the course and hit shots."

Hitting the most shots for Wheeling were McLaughlin (game-high 22 points), junior Jaden

Terrell (13) and junior Joe Jordan (12), who also was a force in the boards.

"Christian has been outstanding the last month and a half," O'Keefe said. "I think he has been playing at an all-conference/all-area type level.

"Joe Jordan has been up on the varsity since day one of his freshman year for a reason. He competes his tail off, is a phenomenal kid and amazing student. We're excited to have him back next season."

Prospect was led by Matt Woloch's 14 points, followed by Mack (12), Chase Larsen (8), Collin Carroll (6) and Brian Dini (6).

But the two biggest points for the home team were by Zei.

"That was special for whole program," Camardella said.

"That was a cool moment for him and his family," O'Keefe said of Zei, who would like to study at Wisconsin-Whitewater and serve as a long snapper on the football team. "We wanted to honor him because he's obviously been through a lot of obstacles."

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