Central Takes Care of Business in Regional Opener

That's tough news to hear Grayslake Central center CJ Stempeck is out for the season following a rough case of mono.

But the same game plan works if Tim Abbott and Casey Blake take turns scoring inside. And when it jams up, they, too, can pass the ball outside.

And on the other end of those passes stood Danny Reed and Kyle Shepard on Wednesday night in Vernon Hills.

The Rams (16-12) earned a rematch with Vernon Hills for the regional crown on Friday night. A year ago, VH star DeVaris Daniels hit a buzzer-beating shot to end Central's season.

Wednesday night's victim was Wauconda. After spotting the Bulldog a quick 7-2 advantage, Central ran away and hid in a 65-42 romp.

"That was one our more mature efforts,'' said Central coach Brian Moe. "We never got too high or too low."

Central's lead reached double digits in the second quarter and the Rams never looked back.

The team was never more impressive than during an 11-0 run in the third quarter. There were two consecutive 3-pointers from Shepard and one from Reed. The Rams lead was 49-25  by this time. Shepard would go 3 for 3 from 3-point range for all of his 9 points.

The only question was whether these were high school 3-pointers or NBA 3-pointers.

"I think they were normal threes,'' Shepard said. "These ones were a little long. I just catch and shoot them. Our big men were drawing a lot of attention so there were lots of good shots.''

Central's lead hit 30 points (58-28) following a six-point run by Abbott. This senior paced the Rams attack with 18 points. Top guard Jordan Taylor had 11 points by early in the second quarter and didn't score again. The sophomore Reed landed a pair of 3-pointers on the way to 10 points.

Anyone in the building at North Chicago last season will never forget the ending to the sectional game between Vernon Hills and Central. The powerful Rams held tightly to a slim lead in the waning seconds. And then Daniels soared into the air and calmly dropped a 3-pointer in from the corner to crush the Rams.

On Feb. 15, Central stopped the Cougars 56-50 on their home floor.

"This will be a tougher rematch,'' Moe said. "It will be a much different game.''

VH beat Chicago Amundsen 60-44 in the first game of the night.

Prior to Friday night's 7:30 p.m. start, a three-point contest will take place. Competing for the Rams that night will be both Caleb Longenecker and Sean Kirby. Both players hit 8 shots on Wednesday.