Lagioia’s late 3-pointer lifts Lake Park past Glenbard North
Lake Park handed Glenbard North its first defeat of the season Friday night, 49-45 on a Dennasio Lagioia 3-point basket with 12.2 seconds left in the game.
Nursing a 45-44 lead with two minutes left to play, the host Panthers went into a stall to run down the clock. At the 34.6-seconds mark, a swarming Lake Park defense finally forced a turnover.
After Lancers coach Billy Pitcher called a timeout, Lake Park inbounded the ball from under the Panthers’ basket and worked it up the court and into Lagioia’s hands on the left wing. The senior squared up and sank his third 3-pointer of the period to put his squad on top. The Panthers quickly brought the ball upcourt, but instead of getting a last-second shot off, they fouled the Lancers’ Tommy Rochford, who calmly sank two free throws to ice Lake Park’s win.
With the victory the Lancers improved their record to 8-1 overall and 4-0 in conference. Lake Park’s only loss was its season opener against Oak Park-River Forest. Glenbard North is 8-1 and 4-1.
“It was a tough one for us for sure,” Glenbard North coach Kevin Tonn said of the first loss of the season. “Down the stretch we didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the ball. When you’re playing a tough team like Lake Park, every possession matters.”
Lagioia was confident he could make the game-winning shot.
“Going into the huddle, I said give me the ball,” the senior said. “I was getting hot at the end. I just wanted the ball so the dribble play to me ended up working out with me shooting and it going in.”
The senior scored 18 points, all on 3-pointers. Rochford also tallied 18 points for the Lancers.
“Dennasio was the key (to the game). To have somebody knock down all those 3s and space the floor,” Pitcher said. “We talked about it this week. We’ve had to get him more looks. He’s an absolute torch.”
The game, a back-and-forth battle between the two DuKane foes, featured six ties and nine lead changes. Neither team led by more than 4 points. The Panthers led 10-8 after the first quarter. Lake Park was on top at halftime 22-20 and at the end of the third quarter 31-30.
“I didn’t think we played very well. Glenbard’s (1-3-1) zone really gave us fits,” Pitcher said. “They created a lot of turnovers and made it tough for us. Dennasio bailed us out.”
Senior Jalen Crues led the Panthers offense with 23 points, all but 2 in the second half. JJ Hernandez tallied 13 points.
“Glenbard is a load inside with Crues and Hernandez,” Pitcher said. “That was a touch matchup for us.”
“Jalen did a nice job of showing his outside inside game, attacking off the dribble and posting up,” Tonn said. “He did a good job of knocking down some big shots in the second half.”