In the postseason, the stars need to shine, and that’s what senior guard Damontae Taylor and junior guard Amar Augillard did for Zion-Benton on Tuesday.
Taylor and Augillard each scored 27 points to propel the fifth-seeded Zee-Bees to a 67-58 win over 12th-seeded Round Lake in a Class 4A Warren Regional semifinal.
“I felt like I had to come out and play hard and give the team a little vibe of how we want to play,” Taylor said.
Round Lake (21-10) won a share of the Northern Lake County Conference title this season by playing fast and loose. But the Panthers had the perfect foil in Zion-Benton (20-10), which outran them to advance to play fourth-seeded Libertyville (19-11) in the regional final at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Zee-Bees made 16 of 26 shots from the field in the first half, including 8 of 12 from beyond the arc, and led 41-29 at halftime.
Zion-Benton coach Bobby Worthington said he wanted Round Lake to try to match his team’s frenetic pace.
“We wanted that,” Worthington said. “Our guys are very versatile. Playing in the North Suburban (Conference), it’s an up-and-down game, and sometimes it’s half-court. I think we can do both of those pretty well.”
After being forced to sit with three fouls midway though the second quarter, Round Lake’s Hakim Williams came out firing to start the second half. The junior guard, who scored 14 points, drained a long-range 3-pointer to cut the lead to 41-32 after the first possession of the third quarter.
“There is something special about this team, and it resonated in the gym,” Round Lake coach Jay Iden said. “Everyone in the huddle was saying, ‘It’s coming, it’s coming.’ “
But the Panthers were unable to get any closer the rest of game. Augillard opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point play, extending the lead to 60-44. Zion-Benton kept a double-digit lead throughout the fourth.
“When they put their mind to it, I don’t know if there is anyone who can stop them,” Worthington said.
Libertyville 46, Warren 43: Junior guard Blake Ellingson scored 10 points to lead the Wildcats in the other semifinal.
Thirteenth-seeded Warren (11-19), which got 10 points from Jordan Johnson, erased Libertyville’s 16-point third-quarter lead to move ahead 40-39 with 1:21 left. But the Wildcats made 7 of 8 free throws to end the game on a 7–3 run.
Libertyville did not make a basket in the fourth quarter but still won a postseason game for the first time in two years.
“It’s the playoffs, it’s an elimination game, (Warren) is on their home floor and they came back,” Wildcats senior forward Will Moore said. “We made some free throws down the stretch and closed the game out.”
Jon J. Kerr is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
