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Sports

Stevenson Crosses Over .500 Mark With Win

Patriots boys get good balance in Saturday's win over Lake Zurich.

Kevin Earl could have planned to take the winter off and keep his throwing arm safe for his venture to South Dakota University. After all, he's a talented quarterback from football season.

But this doesn't mean he's not interested in helping out another team in the building. The 6-foot-5 senior isn't a basketball star, but he helps out when he can.

On Saturday night at Lake Zurich, Earl had exactly one point heading to the fourth quarter in this NSC Lake Division battle. Then in less than a half minute, he piled on five more points as the Patriots climbed over the .500 mark at 12-11. The Pats never trailed in a 48-42 win over the Bears.

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"It was a time where we needed someone to step up,'' Earl said.

His most impressive play followed his first field goal of the night. Lake Zurich, which had trailed by nine points late in third quarter, had pulled within 39-35 when a flurry under the Stevenson basket was finally collared by Earl. He made a quick layup and added the free throw after being fouled.

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"People were running around,'' he said. "I was just in the right spot at the right time."

Stevenson, the 14th seed in the Barrington Sectional, looked in great shape to open this contest. A three-pointer from Ryan Chapman (eight points) gave the Pats a quick 9-1 lead.

"We were able to lock them down on defense,'' said Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose. "We were able to grind this out without scoring a ton of points."

Ambrose was pleased with his team's balance on offense. There were three-pointers off the bench from Troy Radtke (12 points) and Johnny Ricchio (eight points). Also helping in the scoring department was Michael Fleming (seven points).

On Ricchio's three-pointer, the Pats looked in great shape leading 12-4. But the Bears did not fold. By halfway through the second quarter, Lake Zurich was within a single point at 14-13. However, back-to-back three-pointers from Radtke expanded the Pats' halftime lead to 24-16.

"I felt we played hard for 32 minutes,'' Earl said.

Before he heads to South Dakota for some cold weather football, Earl is not regretting coming out for hoops.

"I'm having fun with it,'' he said.

He did point out that his next football squad plays in a dome, so the weather won't be a problem.

Ambrose left the gym in a hurry. He was taking in a game in Fox Lake. That's because on Feb. 28, Stevenson will be in Mundelein's gym for a game with Grant High School (7:30 p.m.). The winner returns the next night for a game with Mundelein.

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