Zion-Benton plows past Lake Zurich

How brutal has the winter been?

Flurries even swirled inside Lake Zurich's main gym Wednesday night.

Flurries of points, that is.

Visiting Zion-Benton's boys basketball team plowed its way to a 79-42 defeat of Lake Zurich, using a 17-2 run at the end of the second quarter to turn a fairly competitive 26-17 game into a 43-19 lead at the half.

Z-B senior guard/forward Amar Augillard, a linebacker in hoops togs, poured in 24 of his 35 points in the first half. The 6-foot-5 Zee-Bee tallied his club's first 7 points in the third frame, and he did it every which way: field goal, 3-pointer, 2 free throws.

Augillard did not play a second in the fourth quarter.

"He's tough, man," LZ coach Terry Coughlin said.

Also tough: Bears senior Brian Lasiewicz (team-high 7 points), who stood courageously in the middle of the lane and drew an offensive foul against a full-steam Augillard at the 2:01 mark of the third quarter.

"We have to compete harder, and for more minutes, than we did tonight," Coughlin said after his crew fell to 0-3, 0-3 in the North Suburban Conference. "Especially against the high level of competition that's in the NSC. We played hard for 32 minutes last Saturday (in a loss to Warren).

"I love our kids; they work hard," he added. "Lot of new players on varsity. We're going through some growing pains."

Z-B (2-1, 2-1 in the NSC) expanded its game-long advantage to 63-33 after three quarters, with Augillard netting back-to-back buckets - in a 27-second span - and freshman teammate Joseph Worthington (24 points, including four 3s) nailing a trey in the final minute of the stanza.

Senior Patrick Tauras and junior Brady Sykes scored 6 points apiece for the Bears, while 6-2 sophomore Parker Blick grabbed a team-high 5 rebounds. Six-foot junior guard Kyle Tognetti contributed 5 points.

Augillard also stood out as a rebounder, coming down with 14 misses and soaring right back several times for putback baskets.