Boys Basketball: Apel sparks Buffalo Grove to fourth straight win

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:12AM

The uniforms were the same, but the attitude of the players wearing them at the start of the second half seemed completely different on Saturday night when Buffalo Grove faced Niles West in a nonconference tilt.

Guard Andrew Apel led the turnaround for the Bison, scoring 16 points after the intermission and allowing Buffalo Grove to erase a 13-point first-half deficit, while charging to a 49-39 victory in Skokie.

The Bison managed just seven points in each of the first two quarters and trailed 24-14 at the half, but a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter gave the Bison a 44-37 lead, and they never trailed again.

“We have been trying to get on a win streak and get it rolling,” said Apel. “That has been our goal since day one, to win games. We are on a win streak now, so that is pretty much what we said at halftime, ‘Let’s keep winning’.”

Saturday’s victory was the fourth straight for Buffalo Grove (9-12).

Apel led all scorers with 19 points, including 11 in the third quarter, which he started by converting a three-point play to open the half and start the Bison rally.

Center Sam Wacker was limited to just two first-half points, but he responded after the break, hitting four straight shot attempts. He totaled 13 points, including seven in the final period, and grabbed nine rebounds.

Alex Fritz knocked down a three-pointer in the third quarter for Buffalo Grove, and finished with nine points, five boards and three blocks.

“We always, like in practice, we feed off each other,” Apel explained. “We push each other, guys on the bench and on the court were always saying, ‘keep it going.’ The harder and harder that we pushed, good things happened.”

Buffalo Grove managed just two field goals in the first quarter, and fell behind 20-7 after David McCoy hit a basket for the Wolves (3-14) midway through the second quarter.

Once the Bison took the lead in the final stanza, they eliminated any chance of a Niles West comeback by limiting the Wolves to just two free throws in the fourth. Niles West was unable to convert a field goal in 13 attempts down the stretch.

“We said at halftime that we wanted to contest shots and limit them to just one shot,” said Buffalo Grove coach Ryan O’Connor. “I thought we did a good job of doing that for an entire half. We are really pleased with our defense in the second half.

“I thought we were OK in the first half, but we missed a lot of shots and their defense had a lot to do with that. We did a better job of attacking the basket and just finishing (in the second half). Defensively, we gave up only 15 points in the second half, so your chances of winning are pretty good.”

Recap: Luke Potnick tallied 26 points to lead BG over Elk Grove 68-60 on Friday night.

On the schedule: The Bison will travel to Rolling Meadows this Friday at 6 p.m.