Top-seeded Scouts pull away in second half

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It wasn't until the school's all-time leading scorer stopped putting the ball in the hole that the No. 1 seeded Lake Forest Scouts took over in their 67-46 win over the Barrington Broncos.

After getting his team's first 15 points of the game and 17 of his 19 in the first half, Lake Forest's Matt Vogrich's scoring parade came to a self-imposed halt.

The score in this IHSA regional semifinal was tied 26-26 after the second quarter, thanks to torrid 3-point shooting by the Broncos, who were 6 for 8 from behind the arc and an economical 9 for 14 from the floor.

Vogrich matched that efficiency single-handedly, going 7 for 10 from the field and scoring all of his team's first-quarter points.

Dreams of an upset for the Broncos (7-22) were smothered early in the second half when Vogrich's teammates began to step up and deliver some points.

"We talked about that at halftime," said Lake Forest coach Phil LaScala. "Matt can do so many things besides scoring, and we told the other guys to be ready to shoot when Matt has the ball."

That advice proved prescient, as the Scouts ripped off a 15-3 run to start the second half.

None of those points came from Vogrich, who totally switched his role, becoming a setup man. The other four Lake Forest starters combined to shoot 8 for 9 in the third, going 4 for 4 from behind the arc.

Kevin Berardini (12 points) accounted for three of those treys during the spurt as the Scouts took over with a 24-8 third period to take a 50-34 lead.

It wasn't until the very end of the third when Vogrich finally scored to make it 50-34. By early in the fourth quarter the subs took the court.

"I thought Kevin did a really good job of helping us pick up the tempo and be more aggressive in the second half," said LaScala of his point guard.

Besides Vogrich and Berardini, Lake Forest also got double-digit scoring from Mitch Hopfinger, who added 12. Starters Jonathan Sobinsky and Tom Rees each had seven, with Sobinsky going 3 for 5 and Rees 3 for 4.

LaScala also expressed surprise that Barrington did so well from the 3-point line in the first half, saying that they did not show that part of their game at all the previous night when they beat Grant. After adjusting, the Scouts held Barrington to 3 for 11 shooting from beyond the arc in the second half.

Lake Forest (22-4) will play for the regional championship Friday night at 7:30 against Stevenson.

LAKE FOREST 67, BARRINGTON 46