Libertyville’s Jack Cenar is nowhere near the top of any opponent’s scouting report.
The 6-foot-2 senior forward is known more for performing tasks that people inside the program most appreciate, and that didn’t change in the first half of a Class 4A Warren Regional semifinal on Wednesday.
“I may have had zero points in the first half, but that wasn’t what I was worried about,” Cenar said. “I’m always trying to get my teammates open, first of all. My job on the offense is usually to set flair screens, down screens, and try to get the guys open and then cut off that.”
With the fate of the Wildcats’ season in the balance, however, Cenar took on a decidedly more high-profile role in the second half. He scored 13 points, nearly matching his career high, as fourth-seeded Libertyville pulled away from sixth-seeded Grant to win 64-49.
Cenar, who also plays baseball, was the perfect complement to 6-8 senior center Bryce Wegrzyn, a Winona State commit whose ever-present production draws extra attention to him. Wegrzyn finished with game highs of 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (16-12), who advanced to the regional final to play top-seeded Warren (29-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.
“My teammates just found me,” Cenar said. “It was off cuts and well-executed offense and flashing to the ball, getting fouled and getting to the line and from good passes from Bryce because he gets doubled a lot. I know that the flash in the middle is always going to be open since he’s so heavily pressured.”
That’s standard practice for Libertyville’s opponents, and it happened in earnest after Wegrzyn asserted himself by scoring nine points in the second quarter. The game was nonetheless tied 24-24 at halftime, which made Cenar’s push all the more significant as the Wildcats took control in the final eight minutes against the Bulldogs (15-12).
“I was very proud of Jack sparking us,” Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski said. “We needed a guy, especially with Bryce getting a lot of pressure, to open up and be a pressure release. You’ve got to give that kid credit. He had a lot of confidence in this game.”
Cenar scored four straight points to counter Grant junior guard Charles Schlicht’s basket at the beginning of the third quarter, and the Wildcats didn’t trail again.
Cenar scored in a variety of ways in the second half, including cuts through the lane. He made all four of his free throws and even connected from long distance.
Cenar’s lone 3-pointer came during a 14-6 run in the fourth quarter that he started with two free throws and which also featured two 3-pointers by senior guard Trevor Wallace and another by Wegrzyn. The Wildcats led by at least nine points the rest of the way.
“Coach always says, ‘If you’re wide open, I don’t care if you’ve missed them before, just shoot them,'” Cenar said. “Not only my three but all of them were really open shots that the offense created.
“My guy probably lost me in the mix, and I’m not going to pass up a shot like that in whatever part of the game unless it’s borderline at the end. At that point of the game, we needed a three, and we needed a big spark.”
Cenar, whose career high is 16 points set early this season, provided that spark.
“He’s big on the defensive end for us as one of our best defenders,” Wegrzyn said. “He rebounds really well, and he’s a tough guy. But I knew he could score, and this was a big game for him to step up big time like that. It helped us a lot. When I was getting doubled in the paint, I hit him, and he made shots.”
Cenar, who played in the outfield during the Libertyville baseball team’s run to the 4A state title last year, understands the stakes.
“Especially now, as a senior in my last year of basketball, I know that I have to give my all, and that’s just based on effort,” he said. “So that’s how I’m going to go into all of these games.”
But Zyrkowski knows Cenar will make an impact no matter how many points he scores.
“He’s one of the most unselfish guys you’re going to see,” Zyrkowski said. “When you watch him play, he’s always doing the right thing, and he’s the type of guy that others look up to and listen to. That’s the sign of a good leader.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
