For the first 4 1/2 minutes of Wednesday night`s Mid-Suburban League title game at Rolling Meadows, the host Mustangs handled the ball as if it were a live grenade.
But when they finally calmed down and began to take care of the ball, Rolling Meadows took care of Hersey at the same time.
Thanks to a fourth-quarter surge sparked by Pat Dudle and Zoran Nikolic, the Mustangs exploded for a 72-60 victory, giving Rolling Meadows
(21-4) its third straight MSL title and seventh win in a row. The ”three-peat” is only the third in league history.
”It`s great being in the same class as the two other teams,” said Rolling Meadows coach Dave Brown, referring to previous triple MSL champions Buffalo Grove and Prospect.
After Hersey (12-11) came up with four steals in the opening 1/2 minutes, Rolling Meadows settled down to commit only two turnovers the rest of the night.
”That`s one advantage we have,” Brown said. ”We stress ballhandling a lot in practice, in passing drills every day. Even our big kids can handle the ball.”
Hersey could not say the same. The Huskies committed 22 turnovers, hurting their chances to take advantage of a 37-27 edge on the boards and a dismal (26-of-66) shooting performance by Rolling Meadows.
While the turnovers seemed to make the difference, Hersey coach Don Rowley did not see it quite that way.
”We made good decisions most of the evening,” he said. ”I disagree with that. Defensively, in the third and fourth quarters, we broke down.”
Rolling Meadows shot only 11-of-33 in the first half, but still trailed by only 30-29. The Mustangs then missed 11 of their first 12 shots in the third quarter, but still trailed by only 41-38 after a three-pointer by Hersey`s Dimitrios Kouzoukas (21 points) with 2:30 left in the quarter.
The game remained a back-and-forth affair until the Mustangs went on a 12-2 tear midway through the final quarter. A steal by Nikolic resulted in a Dudle layup with 3:25 left, and Dudle came right back with another steal, feeding Dwayne Williams for yet another fast-break basket 25 seconds later to make it 62-52.
The Mustangs, who have now won 17 of their last 19, are the No. 1 seed at the Fremd regional. They may meet Hersey again if the two make it into the sectional semifinals March 5.
