Rams Off to the Sectional After Impressive Win

It wasn't supposed to be this easy.

No one would have predicted DaVaris Daniels and his Vernon Hills teammates would have 11 points at halftime in Friday night's regional title game at home.

Grayslake Central, a team that brought back one regular from a year ago, is sectional bound Tuesday night in Norridge.

Tim Abbott (15 points) and Casey Blake (12 points, 10 rebounds) were both key in the Rams surprisingly comfortable 50-39 win over fourth-seeded Vernon Hills.

"If you were to tell me that we would be up 10 for the majority of the game, I would tell you that you were nuts,'' said Central coach Brian Moe.  "The growth of this team from November to today is unbelievable growth."

From Kyle Shepard's opening 3-pointer, the Rams (17-12) never trailed. Boyle's rebound and bucket beat the buzzer and Central was up 23-11 at halftime.

"We are just peaking at the right time,'' Boyle said. "It just took us a lot of time to learn. But our defense the last couple of weeks has stepped up."

Most impressive was the team work on the high-scoring Daniels. Remarkably this true star had just one foul shot by halftime.

"We needed help on Daniels,'' Moe said. "We had a great team effort defensively."

By late in the third quarter, this game was nearly out of reach. An Abbott free throw gave the Rams a 19-point lead at 32-13.

"We figured they would make a run,'' Boyle said. "And towards the end it got a little scary."

Boyle had a 6-point run by himself in the fourth quarter. But as time ticked away, the Cougars (17-11) finally began to put the ball in the hoop.  With 76 seconds to play, VH was within six points at 42-36.

"They had to make it interesting,'' Moe said.

Abbott was the player who kept his team safely ahead in the waning moments. His dunk shot accented the win. The Rams also had help from Shepard (6 points), Tyler Smith (5 points) and Danny Reed (4 points).

Central has a road trip scheduled for Tuesday night. It's off to Ridgewood High School in Norridge.

"If we leave today, we will be on time for that game,'' Moe joked.

On the ride down, they might spot the North Chicago bus. That's because the Warhawks are also headed to Norridge to play the Rams. North Chicago routed Gordon Tech 81-53 in its regional title match.