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December 20th, 2007
Evanston 58 vs. Waukegan 50
Sophomore phenom Jereme Richmond and Waukegan came out of Evanston's Beardsley gym tonight with a loss, as they fell to Coach Bobby Locke's Wildkits by a score of 58-50 in the most hyped Central Suburban League game yet this season. Richmond was impressive throughout the game, as he posted 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks, while shooting a very high percentage from the floor, but Evanston's hard-nosed team play was just too much for Richmond and the Bulldogs to handle.

Evanston came out of the gates strong, and kept their momentum through the first half and into the third quarter. The Wildkits led 38-20 during the 3rd, but a 17-4 Waukegan run brought the game within the Bulldogs reach. The game was close until the final seconds, and Waukegan narrowed the lead to just four points with 37 seconds left in the 4th. Two consecutive Wildkit baskets then put the game away and gave Evanston the 58-50 win, pushing their record to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the CSL.

"At the end of the game we knew we had to hit shots, and we were patient," said 6-2 senior G Zach Morton, who is committed to play baseball at Northwestern next year. "We knew our zone would keep them from scoring, but we needed to hit shots to put it away." Morton finished with 15 points, 4 assists, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.

Morton and his back court mate Stephen Rudnicki, a 6-3 senior, were stellar from start to finish, sharing point guard duties and controlling the games tempo. Rudnicki is a lanky sharpshooter who is looking at a number of DIII schools including St. Norberts, Augustana, and the University of Chicago. He finished with 9 points and 6 assists on the night. The duo was composed throughout the game, limiting turnovers despite the quickness and pressure put on by Waukegan's guards.

"He (Waukegan's Naudge Carpenter) is an agressive defender," Locke said. "I think they allowed him to use his hands as much as I've ever seen," he continued. "I have always said that my back court is one of the best in the state. They have never been called flashy, but they will put you to work. They are best friends too."

Richmond was denied the ball on offense for much of the game by Evanston's stingy 3-2 defense, and he was kept off the glass by Evanston's big men. The 6-6 sophomore Illinois commit showed off the defensive side of his game, as he blocked 5 shots and got another block called back on a goal-tend. Richmond, who ranks amongst the top 5 sophomores in the nation, showed off his versatility throughout the game, but was constantly challenged and often contained for periods of time by Evanston's hard-nosed team play. Richmond put up 17 points, but he got very few open shot opportunities and scored a lot of his points on put-backs and takes up the baseline.

"I said 'just don't lose him,'" Locke stated. "We lost him a couple times and he got the baseline, but he is hard to stop. When I called a timeout near the end of the game when they were coming back, I said 'just play well'"

Senior Travis Clark proved to be the foundation for the Wildkits win yet again, and though he put up impressive numbers, his contributions could not be measured by stats. The long-armed 6-5 power forward is a vocal and emotional leader for the Wildkits, and has stuck with a team-first attitude from day one. Colleges have taken notice, and St. Mary's (MN), Lake Forest, St. Norberts, Carthage, North Park, and others are in the running for his services. Clark finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

"Travis does the same thing every night: he produces," stated Locke. "Travis is so good that sometimes we take him for granted, we get spoiled," he continued. "He gets a double-double every night, and when he misses we are often surprised and get mad at him."

When asked to speak about his individual performance, Clark had only good things to say about his teammates. "At first I was missing my shots, but it didn't matter because 'Big Dan'  held it down for me down low," he said (referring to 6-5 senior C Daniel Farr: committed to Toledo football- 10 points).

And when asked about what he individually proved as he (a virtually unknown player) was able to play with a player of Richmond's caliber and come out with a win, he humbly stated: "I feel we proved tonight that a number one player can easily be stopped by a good team." Calling Evanston a good team on this night would be an understatement.