Boys Basketball: Buffalo Grove cruises to win over Niles West

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Updated: February 22, 2012 12:14PM

Buffalo Grove struggled for most of the first half Saturday night in a nonconference contest against Niles West, but once the Bisons got rolling, they were difficult to stop.

The Bison opened the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run and never looked back while claiming a 49-39 victory in Skokie.

Andrew Apel started the Buffalo Grove comeback right from the start of the third quarter, converting a three-point play and cutting into a 24-14 half-time deficit.

“It was just intensity, you never want to get behind like that,” said Apel. “But when you get your intensity going and get the team together, and get the bench going and all the guys on the court then you can cut the deficit down a lot.”

Apel, who finished with a game-high 19 points, also hit a bucket during the Bison’s fourth quarter run that gave Buffalo Grove a 44-37 lead, which they never relinquished.

Sam Wacker added 13 tallies, nine boards and three blocks for Buffalo Grove (9-12), while Alex Fritz totaled nine points.

“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,” said Bison coach Ryan O’Connor. “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.”

Niles West (3-14) took command of the game early, limiting the Bison to just seven points in each of the first two quarters. The Wolves led 20-7 midway through the second quarter following a bucket by David McCoy (seven rebounds).

McCoy led Niles West with 14 points, including 10 before the intermission. Joe Younan had all eight of his points in the first half, while sophomore Ahmad Gibson collected six points.

The fourth quarter was dismal for the Wolves. They managed just two free throws and did not knock down a field goal in 13 attempts.

“I think we just lost our focus and forgot what coach (Bob Williams) was telling us,” explained McCoy. “We try to take it one possession at a time, but as they got on their run, we started to lose focus and got down on ourselves and each other.

“In the first half we were moving well, cutting and setting screens. In the second half, it just stopped.”