Analysis: L-Way North Breezes by L-Way West

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.

That was the motto for Lincoln-Way North as  it set a school record for points in an 84-61 victory over district rival Lincoln-Way West Tuesday night in Frankfort Square.

And how did they do it? Well, it was a simple. The Phoenix (10-17, 4-9) shot the ball. When they missed, they retrieved the rebound and shot it again.

Nobody embodied that philosophy more than sophomore Darryl Morgan and senior Riley Pakosz. Both had seven offensive rebounds and helped the Phoenix to a 58-28 28 edge on the boards, including 30-16 margin on the offensive end.

The big rebound advantage helped North to 40 second-chance points. Pakosz (19 points, 12 rebounds), Morgan (13 points, 10 rebounds) and senior Lance Payne (14 points and 11 rebounds) all ended up with double-doubles on the night, which is a rare feat for a high school game to have three players reach double figures in both points and rebounds all in the same game. Senior Jake Harper also added double figures in points for North. He scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds.

For the Phoenix, the win was a measure of revenge against West (6-22, 3-10). The Warriors defeated North a month ago in New Lenox 62-52 on a night when North shot 18-of-77 from the field against a ferocious West pressing defensive.

On Tuesday, though, North was the aggressor as it harassed West into to a 20-of-65  (30 percent) shooting performance, including 9-of-28 from the three-point line.

North broke open a close game midway through the second quarter. The Phoenix went on a 15-3 run, including 10 unanswered points to take a 41-26 lead at halftime. Morgan scored on an offensive rebound to open the second half and then stole the inbounds pass and fed Pakosz and it was all downhill from there as North opened up a lead as large as 62-31 late in the third quarter.

“We played really well for a stretch of the second quarter and most of third as the kids responded to our challenge to them to play with intensity,” North coach John Terry said.

Key Stat: North saw 8-of-9 seniors get into the scoring column on Senior Night. Only Brandon Collins failed to score, and he was injured just seconds into the game and did not return.

Quotable: “It was really nice to see all the seniors get in the game and contribute," Terry said. "They worked hard all year long, so it was nice to be able to reward them."

What’s ahead: North next plays against Southwest Suburban Red leader and state-ranked Thornton Friday in Frankfort Square, while West travels to Dolton to conclude its regular season against Thornridge.

IHSA State Tournament: Next Monday, North will play Shepard at home in its first game of the IHSA tournament, while West will play Bremen. The Warriors have defeated the Braves twice this year.

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