Sports
North Registers First Win Ever Over Central
Tight game in fourth quarter turns into a rout for Knights.
The Grayslake North coaching staff noticed a pattern over at rival Grayslake Central, that the Rams were usually quick out of the gate. So North Coach Todd Grunloh figured out a way to slow down the Rams with a 2-3 zone.
In the 10th meeting of these neighbors on Monday night, the Knights never trailed, and more importantly broke a nine-game losing streak to the Rams with a 56-40 romp at home. The Knights closed strongly scoring the game's final 11 points.
"I will get text message after text message from the kids who have graduated,'' Grunloh said. "What a great win for the kids. Our kids were very loose for this game."
Find out what's happening in Grayslakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It was a rough shooting night for the Rams (11-10, 6-3). Leading scorer Jordan Taylor hit one 3-pointer on the night and was held to 3 points.
"We just weren't the aggressor tonight,'' said Central Coach Brian Moe. "North took it to us."
Find out what's happening in Grayslakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The winning Knights (15-4, 7-2) had plenty of help on this night. Sophomore AJ Fish led a balanced attack with 13 points. Leading scorer Teddy Ludwig didn't score until the second quarter but finished with 12 points. Junior Zack Krupp landed three 3-pointers on the way to 11 points.
Despite Central's rough night on offense, this game was close until the final three minutes. On a 3-pointer from Tyler Smith, the game was knotted at 32-32 with two minutes to play in the third quarter. North opened up some breathing room in the final quarter but again the Rams didn't fade. Sophomore Dan Reed hit a pair of three-pointers cutting the Knights lead to 45-40. Reed led the Rams with 11 points.
Rams center CJ Stempeck scored only 5 points but was potent on the boards with 12 rebounds.
It's clear the North zone gave Central a hard time.
"We wanted to slow them down,'' Grunloh said. "But 32 minutes later, we were still in the zone. We've been practicing this zone since January."
North's win improved their home record to 6-0.
"It's our home court,'' said center David Sparks. "We want to own this place."
