Stevenson Ends Season at Mundelein Regional

Patriots put up quite a battle before falling to the favored Mustangs.

Those seniors always have a greater sense of urgency. They know when it could be their last high school game ever. And with Stevenson (15-13) trailing by double digits at Mundelein on Tuesday night, that surge of energy went through senior Johnny Ricchio. With a half a minute to play in the third quarter, Ricchio had no points to report. He would score 11 points in the final eight minutes of Stevenson's final game of the season. Home-standing Mundelein won its 26th game of the year and edged the Patriots 66-57 in a regional contest. "I knew this could be my last game,'' Ricchio said. "I knew I had to get to the rim and make sure I finished." On another dash to the hoop by Ricchio, that Mundelein lead was down to one 3-pointer at 47-44. …

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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 Stevenson 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. "It was a time where we needed someone to step up,'' Earl said. His most impressive play …

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Recht Takes a Punch, Delivers KO to Hersey

Buffalo Grove senior comes off the bench to rally the Bison to a win on Friday night.

Maybe this is another way to inspire the team. Simply bench a starter and then insert him and watch his eyes light up. Buffalo Grove coach Ryan O'Connor did not bench senior Dan Recht on Friday night. He just wanted more height on the floor against a tall Hersey club in Arlington Heights. And when the Huskies bolted to a quick 10-1 lead, O'Connor let Recht loose on the floor. Despite taking an accidental punch to the face, Recht had his best night ever in a Bison uniform. His 20-point night was highlighted by his put-back with 0.6 seconds to play. The Bison (14-8, 5-3)  avenged an earlier loss to Hersey with this 58-56 victory. "I had a lot of motivation,'' Recht said. "This was my career high in points." Recht did not make an impression …

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Patriots Make Comeback; Lose in Overtime

Stevenson boys wake up in the fourth quarter and force OT.

Just say there was one of those high school video players around. What would it show? Did Ryan Chapman's heroic put-back actually beat the buzzer ending the game? "I'm not sure,'' said Stevenson boys basketball coach Pat Ambrose. It might also be wise to ask why was Stevenson playing in overtime anyway on Saturday night in Lincolnshire? After all, the Patriots (9-10, 3-6) had just 11 points at halftime. "We just came out with very low energy,'' said junior Troy Radtke. "I don't know what happened." An 18-point frantic fourth quarter forced overtime with visiting Lake Forest. The Scouts escaped with a 48-46 NSC Lake Division victory. After the game's leading scorer, Carter Bass (23 points), pushed in a shot to open the fourth quarter, the …

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BG's Miracle Comeback Falls Short

Bison boys nearly catch Rolling Meadows on Friday night.

Fans of Buffalo Grove's boys basketball team could have excused themselves early on Friday night. The Bison stood 107 seconds from extinction and visiting Rolling Meadows was in full control leading 59-50. And on top of that, some of the key Bison players were fouling out. Despite those tough odds, BG gave the remaining fans all the excitement they could take. On Dan Recht's first bucket of the night, the Mustangs lead was down to four points (59-55). On a short shot from Rich Zirngibl, it was a two-point game. And on Alex Fritz's three-pointer, that big lead was down to a single point at 61-60. That's as close as the Bison (12-8, 4-3) would come on this night. Rolling Meadows evened the season series with Buffalo Grove with this 64-60 win…

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Prus Puts Up the Numbers in Win Over Elk Grove

Buffalo Grove dodges Elk Grove on Saturday night

Here's a few numbers from the world of Buffalo Grove High School senior Nick Prus. His ACT score is 35. His grade point average is a robust 5.64. And he's headed to that schools of schools back east called Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Oh, another number popped up on Saturday night. It was 25, as in the number of points he scored against visiting Elk Grove. Buffalo Grove (12-7, 4-2) roared to a quick 17-7 start only to watch the visiting Grenadiers grab a late lead. A late Prus three-pointer was key in BG's 65-59 MSL East victory. "They weren't letting me shoot the ball, so I was taking it to the hoop,'' Prus said. "That takes a lot of practice and work in the weight room." Prus and teammate Sam Wacker both had nine points at …

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Patriots Seal Game with One-Point Lead

Stevenson tops Naperville North 37-36.

Stevenson boys basketball coach Pat Ambrose admitted that he had some mixed feelings heading into Saturday’s appearance at the Naperville North Shootout, going up against the host Huskies. It didn’t have anything to do with the opponent or the match-up. It was the fact that Ambrose is a 1987 graduate of Naperville North, which brought back many memories. “There is still a part of me that bleeds blue and orange,” Ambrose admitted. “It was an emotional night.” The night was made brighter by the fact that his Patriots bounced back from Friday’s tough loss to Warren with a 37-36 win, despite having to play without starting point guard Michael Fleming and top reserve Johnny Ricchio, who were both injured Friday. “We talked about energy and …

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Bison Run Out of Time Against New Trier

After trailing by 18 in the fourth quarter, Buffalo Grove lost 64-60 to the Trevians.

Buffalo Grove might be wishing its game against New Trier was a few minutes longer. The Bison made a furious late rally against New Trier, but ran out of time in a 64-60 loss to the Trevians in Buffalo Grove Tuesday night. New Trier (7-8) led by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter before the Bison (10-6) finally generated some quick offense. Junior Connor Boehm had 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Trevians to lead all scorers. The 6-7 center dominated the game inside, especially with Bison center Sam Wacker fighting through an ankle injury. “He’s a load inside,” Buffalo Grove coach Ryan O’Connor said of Boehm. “We kind of figured we’d have a difficult time with him.” The teams traded baskets early and were tied at 12 after the first …

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The Patch Hardwood Tour

Dundee-Crown Makes Fine First Impression

Seventh in a series The Patch Hardwood Tour examines boys high school basketball on a weekly rotational basis, focusing on teams in a 12-town region. Its intent is to celebrate and inform about prep hoops; the best high school sport in the state. The Tou

The rubber left on the road turned out to be worth the wear Friday night as The Tour took a long trip to Elgin to get a first look at the Dundee-Crown Chargers. For the second time in its last three games, Dundee-Crown came away with a victory at the expense of a young Larkin Royals club, which dropped to 3-12 on the year. The latest score was 63-49 in a game the Chargers commanded from the start. Dundee-Crown (7-4) is led by a pair of good-looking 6-foot-4 senior forwards, Jamel Kimbrough and Ryan Smith, with sophomore Dylan Kissack and a group of effectively interchangeable parts adding to a deep mix. The team's impressive ball movement kept their opponents a step behind all night and resulted in nearly half the Chargers buckets being …

Big Run Sparks Buffalo Grove Win Over Providence

The Bison came back to win 54-42 after trailing by as many as 11 in the first half.

Buffalo Grove’s game against Providence Catholic played out similar to how the Bison’s season has played out so far. The Bison girls got off to a slow start, falling behind by 11 in the second quarter, but used a huge run in the middle of the game to pick up a 54-42 win in a Sweet 16 Tournament game at Buffalo Grove. After starting the season 1-7, Buffalo Grove has now won six of its last 10 games to improve to 7-11 overall. “I think we’re getting some confidence,” Bison coach Pat Dudle said. “We play a very tough schedule. Now things are starting to come together. We’re playing a little bit more solid defense and we understand that we don’t have the biggest team in the world that we need just a ton of tenacity on the boards and we got …

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