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Bears Boys Muzzle Bulldogs, 59-45

Lake Zurich builds up a 46-20 lead in the third quarter before cruising to an easy victory

With their 59-45 win over Grant Tuesday night, Lake Zurich has a modest two-game winning streak going into the IHSA quarterfinals. The team has seemingly turned the corner on some gaffes and inconsistencies that have plagued them most of the season, and their third and fourth quarter meltdowns suddenly seem a thing of the past.

“The run in the third quarter was just great to see,” said coach Billy Pitcher. “We’ve talked about the problems we’ve had in the third quarter, and to see them put that run together is a good sign.”

The game started inauspiciously for the Bears, who were quickly down 6-2, as the Bulldog’s senior guard Vic Muntu scored the team’s first two baskets. Then Lake Zurich started to chip away at the lead as Mirko Grcic went 1-for-2 from the line and then 2-for-2.

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The Bears kicked it into high gear when Tyler Every completed a 3-point play to tie the score at eight, which was followed by Jeff O’Brien’s 3-point play after a foul by Grant’s junior guard Sean Wells. Grcic then scored an easy layup following a smooth feed by Every, and the Bears had a 13-10 lead going into the second quarter.

After the Bulldogs scored to narrow Lake Zurich's advantage to 13-12, the Bears started to pull away. Grcic went coast to coast with a jumper off the boards, and after Wells went 1-for-2 from the line, Grcic struck again on a layup following an alley oop pass.

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Justin Peterson, coming off the bench for the Bears and playing solid with seven points on the night, scored on a layup, followed by Drake Orser’s easy layup for a 21-13 Lake Zurich lead. Grcic had a layup and jumper in front of the net for the last four points of the quarter for the Bears, who took a 30-18 advantage into halftime.

The third quarter has been the tar pit period for much of the season for Lake Zurich, when they’ve tended to give up a lot of points and lose the rhythm of the game. But in the last two contests, the team has played some of their best basketball of the season in the third quarter. Against Grant, the Bears scored 24 points while giving up 14.

They opened up the second half with a 3-pointer by Mike Boyd from the far left side, followed by another tres by Colin Rathe. Grcic nailed yet another 3-pointer from behind the free throw line, and just like that, the Bears were up 39-20. The triple pointers were falling fast and furious, as Brendan Seeger got into the act. After a tip-in by Every, Lake Zurich led 46-20 for their biggest lead of the game.

Grcic had another impressive play later in the quarter with another basket following an alley oop pass after a steal by Seeger. By the end of the quarter, the Bears had built a formidable 54-32 advantage.

Lake Zurich came back down to earth in the fourth quarter, as they were outscored by the Bulldogs 13-5.

“Give Grant a lot of credit. They came out with their smaller players and never gave up and kept battling,” said Pitcher. “They’re a very good team.”

Sean Wells scored eight points for Grant in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs were too far behind to mount any sort of realistic comeback. The Bears, who have been on the short end of an insurmountable lead so many times this season, were able to coast to the finish line in their final regular season game.

Bears Pause: Lake Zurich had four 3-point conversion plays and four 3-pointers. Mirko Grcic led the team with 16 points. The Bears continue to employ the alley oop pass pass play with maximum efficiency; they used it five times against Grant after using it several times against Zion-Benton in last Friday’s game.

 Next Up: Lake Zurich plays their IHSA quarterfinal game at 6 p.m.,  Monday, Feb. 28, in Lake Forest.

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