Boys Basketball: L-Way North 'Rebounds' to Win over L-Way West

The Hot Read: Lincoln-Way North combined a dominant rebounding effort with some good shooting from the field and the free throw line to defeat Lincoln Way-West 84-61 in a Southwest Suburban Red boys basketball game Tuesday night. The Phoenix win was fueled by rising sophomore Darryl Morgan (10 rebounds) and seniors Riley Pakosz (12 rebounds) and Lance Payne (11 rebounds). All three finished with double-digit rebound totals. The Phoenix blew open a tight game midway through the second quarter. North scored 10 unanswered points to take a 41-26 halftime lead. The Phoenix then outscored West 8-2 to open the second half, taking a 49-28 lead.

Patch's MVP: Two winners here for North. Riley Pakosz (19 points, 12 rebounds), Lance Payne (14 points, 11 rebounds).  

Key Stats: North outrebounded West 55-28, including 30-16 on the offensive end. North was also 17-of-21 from the free throw line and shot 47 percent from the field (31-of-66). Defensively, North held West to 30.8 percvent shooting (20-of-65).

Lincoln-Way North Leaders: Darryl Morgan (13 points, 10 rebounds), Jake Harper (12 points).

Lincoln-Way West Leaders: Mike Marotta (12 points, 6 rebounds), Robert Hubbard (9 points), Gino Manzella (9 points).

Quotable I: North Coach John Terry:  “I told the kids if you do anything tonight, make sure it’s you play with intensity and desire.”

Quotable II: West Coach Eric Long: “I was disappointed with our effort on the rebounding end. They just outhustled us all night long, and it really had a lot to do with the outcome.”

Team Records: North improves to 10-17 and 4-9. West slips to 6-22 and 3-10.

What's Next: North concludes its regular season Friday night at home against conference leader and state-ranked Thornton. West concludes its regular season Friday at Thornridge.