Zee-Bees are peaking at right time

Zion’s Lenzelle Smith, left, puts up a shot against Lake Forest’s Matt Williams, center, and Matt Vogrich, right, during their basketball game at Lake Forest.
(Michael Schmidt/News-Sun)

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Lake Forest may be the top seed in the upcoming IHSA Class 4A Waukegan Sectional, but it's hard to argue the fact that Zion-Benton High's boys basketball team is playing the best hoops in Lake County right now.

After victories in the past few weeks over No. 4 Warren, No. 2 Waukegan and No. 1 Lake Forest -- 70-57 on Friday night in Lake Forest -- the third-seeded Zee-Bees are definitely peaking at the right time.

"We wanted to make a statement in the second half of the season that if we play as a team and play our best ball, we are going to be tough to beat in the state tournament," said Zion junior forward Lenzelle Smith, who poured in a team-high 21 points to help the Bees stop the host Scouts' 12-game win streak.

Despite the first-half heroics of Lake Forest forward Jonathan Sobinsky (19 points, 11 rebounds), the North Suburban Conference Lake Division champions still found themselves trailing 29-27 at the break.

"That's because we turned the ball over 14 times in the first half," said Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala. "It we just cut those turnovers in half and make a few shots on those possessions, it's a different game.

"But give Zion credit, they played well defensively."

Despite the Zee-Bees' aggressive defensive pressure in the second half, Lake Forest (20-4, 10-2) kept the game close behind Matt Vogrich's game-high 22 points until late in the contest.

Zion (22-6, 9-3) used a 10-0 run -- sparked by two straight 3-pointers by Ronald Steward and Smith -- to midway into the final quarter to break open what was a 50-50 contest.

Smith, Paul Williams and Armani Peterson then drained several clutch free throws in the final minutes to keep Zion's lead in double digits.

Owen Worthington (11 points) and Quintrell Love (10 points) joined Smith and Williams (10 points) in double figures, as Zion won its 10th consecutive contest.