RECAP: LF 53, WARREN 45
Members of the Scouts, including Jake Fisher (No. 11) and Tommy Hanson (No. 15), celebrate their win over Warren. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
Jack Van Hyfte turned into Jack Van Huge.
The 5-foot-10 Lake Forest senior guard, who was a deadeye shooter all night, set himself up in the left corner, took a pass from Jed Thomas and calmly drilled a three-pointer.
Calmly.
Timely.
That clutch three-pointer, with 3:34 left in the game, went a long way in helping Lake Forest to a 53-45 victory over host Warren on Jan. 27.
“That was huge,” said Lake Forest head coach Phil LaScala. “All of his points tonight were huge.”
Van Hyfte, who shoots with the left hand, helped his team right the ship.
The Scouts, who now have won three straight North Suburban Conference game, were sailing along just fine, when, all of a sudden, the host Blue Devils (13-10, 5-3) fought back to overcome a 15-point deficit with an 18-0 run in the second half.
“We got passive,” said LaScala. “Our guys were looking around instead of being aggressive.”
Warren, which is still in the hunt for an NSC crown, had a two-point advantage, 40-38, before Van Hyfte unloaded his long-range shot.
The Scouts regained the momentum down the stretch, outscoring Warren 15-6 in the final 3:34 of the contest.
Mead Payne, who led LF in scoring with 16 points, helped to seal the win by hitting four straight free throws. He finished the game 7-for-7 from the foul line.
Senior Ben Gibson tallied 10 of his 11 points in the final six-plus minutes.
Van Hyfte also ended up with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting. Three of his baskets were from beyond the arc, while he also hit a 14-footer on a drive down the lane in the third quarter.
Thomas only scored two points, but the senior guard came up big in the fourth quarter: 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block.
LF’s Game Balls: Mead Payne (Sr., C), Jack Van Hyfte (Sr., G), Ben Gibson (Sr., F)
Warren’s Game Ball: Branden Ellis (Sr., G)
Player of the Game: Payne
LF’s Unsung Hero: Jed Thomas
LF’s Stat Leaders
— Payne (16 points, 7-7 at foul line, 4 rebounds)
— Gibson (11 points, 10 points in 4th quarter, 6 rebounds)
— Van Hyfte (11 points, 3 three-pointers)
— Thomas (2 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists)
— Tommy Hanson (5 points)
Warren’s Stat Leaders
— Elllis (19 points)
— Barak Diehl (8 points)
LF’s Ben Gibson (left) fights for possession against Warren’s Adnan Sarancic. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
Mead Payne corrals the ball during action against Warren. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
Warren’s Branden Ellis stuffs the ball during fourth-quarter action. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER