LaTulip, Prospect pull away to beat Buffalo Grove

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Buffalo Grove Saturday, 11/26/11 Buffalo Grove's Luke Potnick (2) during the 3rd quarter of Saturday evening's game against Stevenson at Buffalo Grove's Bison Classic Thanksgiving Basketball Tournament. | Brian O'Mahoney~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: May 9, 2012 10:09AM

Faced with the daunting task of stopping Prospect guard Mike LaTulip, Buffalo Grove decided to implement a box-and-one defense on the University of Illinois-bound star.

First, Alex Fritz trailed LaTulip’s every move, but he got in severe foul trouble early on before fouling out. Rich Zirngibl took the assignment next, but the same foul trouble and eventual early exit plagued him as well. Andrew Apel took a turn and, yes, he fouled out in pursuit of LaTulip.

Luke Potnick was the only Bison defender able to chase LaTulip without fouling, but with the offensive burden on his shoulders, it ended up being too much for Buffalo Grove (5-10, 1-3 Mid-Suburban East) as the Bison fell to Prospect 68-53 Friday night.

LaTulip struggled for most of the night, but as stars do, he scored 14 points in the fourth quarter and made 10 of 11 free throws to finish with a game-high 27 points in leading the Knights (9-5, 3-1).

“We did really well on him,” Potnick said. “He got most of his points at the line and in the fourth quarter, so I thought our defense was fine. He got away from us in the second half of the fourth quarter. The refs were letting stuff go a little bit, but then we caught some foul trouble and it was hard to get in their pocket. We like to play physical and that started to hurt us.”

In the first quarter, Potnick completed an and-one layup, then hit a three-pointer to forge a 14-14 tie. But with all the defensive focus on LaTulip, Prospect used a multitude of post players to take a 32-24 lead at halftime.

Potnick drilled another three-pointer with 2:31 left in the third to finish a 7-0 run that brought the Bison within four points, and they stayed within striking distance until early in the fourth quarter.

With 5:12 left and the Bison defense fading, LaTulip hit a deep three to start an 11-2 run over the next 90 seconds. The Knights made nine of 12 free throws from there and coasted to the 15-point decision.

Potnick led the Bison with 18 points.

“He played very well, and I think as a team we played well,” Buffalo Grove coach Ryan O’Connor said of Potnick. “I felt really good at halftime. In the second half, we did not rebound the basketball like we needed to. Prospect did a good job of balancing the floor, getting open shots and taking care of the ball. They got second and third shots when they had a chance.”

Sam Wacker contributed 14 points and seven rebounds, and Zirngibl added 10 points.

Prospect out-rebounded Buffalo Grove 42-26 and had four scorers in double figures.

On the schedule: Buffalo Grove has the week off before hosting Hersey in a conference tilt at 6 p.m. Saturday. Then it’s three straight road games against New Trier, Wheeling and Maine East.

“Right now, we just have to learn how to win and finish games,” Potnick said. “We’re right there for most of the game, three quarters. Once we get to the fourth, we have to finish.”