HP_020719

32 | February 7, 2019 | The highland park landmark sports
hplandmark.com
Boys Basketball
Beermann’s heroics lift Giants in overtime
Gary Larsen
Freelance Report
Highland Park’s Mr. Unflappable
was at it again.
As he has all season,
Giants senior Cole Beermann
showed during an
overtime win Jan. 29 that
he’s perfectly comfortable
playing in the eye of the
hurricane.
Beerman took a charge,
hit a 3-pointer and iced
Highland Park’s 63-60
nonconference win over
visiting Lake Forest Academy
with four free throws
and all seven points scored
by the Giants in overtime.
He finished with a gamehigh
26 points, which included
six 3-pointers.
Giants coach Paul Harris
said he has a roster of players
who manage to remain
calm under pressure, and
no one exemplifies that
calm more than Beermann.
“You’re just playing basketball,”
Beermann said.
“Confidence helps but you
just have to remember that
it’s just a sport and not to
overthink it.”
Beermann’s confidence
took root this year, after
not seeing much varsity
playing time as a junior.
“He committed himself
in the offseason and has
come so far,” Harris said
of Beermann. “I’m really
proud of the way he’s
playing right now. He was
hitting big shots, making
clutch free throws; he
played like a senior, like a
veteran.”
For Lake Forest Academy
coach Kyle Koncz,
the loss to Highland Park
boiled down to more
than the point total on the
scoreboard.
“Winning is hard, and
there’s more that goes into
it than just making shots,”
The Giants Zach Fagenholz, who hit a clutch 3-pointer in regulation, gets past the
Caxys defense Jan. 29, in Highland Park. Photos by Gary Larsen/22nd Century Media
Koncz said. “You have to
make more winning plays
up and down the line, especially
on the road, and
tonight we left too many
winning plays out there.”
In Lake Forest Academy
(8-12), Highland Park (10-
10) took on yet another
team this season with a
pronounced height advantage
in the frontcourt.
But if the Giants handed
out an award for hardnosed,
blue-collar play, junior
Val Oplchenski would
be a regular recipient.
As the tallest Giant at
6-foot-5, Oplchenski and
the 6-1 Beermann fought
the good fight inside
against the taller Caxys all
night.
The Giants beat an even
taller Deerfield team on
Jan. 12 with a similar effort.
“Same exact keys: have
a good strong base and
just block out your man,”
Oplchenski said. “It’s that
simple. They were more
physical than Deerfield but
they were similar in terms
of their playing style.”
The Caxys, led by senior
guard Bellamy Marcus’ six
points, led 16-13 after one
quarter. Olivier Prosper
netted six in the second
quarter, and LFA led 31-29
at halftime.
Prosper and Dane Quest
finished with 15 points
apiece while Marcus
scored 13.
After being outscored by
three points in the game’s
first quarter, Highland
Park earned a one-point
scoring edge in each of the
next three quarters.
The Caxys led 49-43
early in the fourth after a
three-point-play from Bellamy.
Then, Highland Park’s
Nate Fleisher hit a 3-pointer
from the corner and
Beermann buried a jump
shot to make it 49-48.
The Caxys Jake Wolf (9
points) and the Giants’ Andrew
Natinsky (13 points)
traded 3-pointers, and after
baskets from Natinsky
and Marcus, LFA led 54-
53 with 45 seconds left in
regulation.
A wild final 10 seconds
of regulation saw the Giants
Zach Fageneholz hit
a 3-pointer to give Highland
Park a two-point lead.
Fleisher attacked the basket
and Oplchenski rebounded
his miss and kicked the
ball out to Fagenholz, who
calmly buried the three.
“That was awesome. I
was so excited for [Fagenholz],”
Beermann said. “It
was a great shot and you
have to be a big-time player
to hit that shot.”
The Caxys answered
with some poise of their
own, racing up the floor
and finding Quest for a layup
at the final buzzer that
sent the game to overtime.
Beermann took a charge
Val Oplchenski flies to the basket for a contested lay-in
for the Giants.
early in the overtime period
and then hit a trey
that gave the Giants a lead
they would not relinquish.
Prosper and Quest each
had a basket in overtime
for the Caxys.
Harris got solid efforts
from up and down his lineup
in the win.
“Andrew and Cole
played like seniors, Val
gave us a lot inside, and
I thought Isaac Griswold
and Jake Lichtman gave
us great minutes off the
bench,” Harris said. “And
Nate Fleisher and Billy
Rudman are fearless as
sophomores. They’ve given
us great play on both
ends of the floor, their
teammates have a lot of
confidence in them, and
it’s great to see them improving.”
high school
highlights
The rest of the week in
high school sports
BOYS HOCKEY
Highland Park 3, Lakers 0
Tyler Kasemir stopped
14 shots while in net and
his defense killed all 10
penalties for the Giants in
the Saturday, Feb. 2 playoff
victory over the Lakers
(co-op between Antioch,
Grayslake North and
Central, and Grant high
schools).
George Giese scored
two goals and Sam Shachtman
had one for Highland
Park.
In continued postseason
play, the Giants hosted
Lake Zurich-Mundelein-
Wauconda on Monday,
Feb. 4. Results were not in
by press time.
Highland Park 6, Fox
Valley 4
Sam Shachtman had a
goal and two assists as the
Giants won their first playoff
game in nine seasons
on Jan. 27.
Jack Elbaum added
two goals and an assist
and Will Rosenberg also
scored twice in Highland
Park’s historic win.
Girls Basketball
Vernon Hills 56, Highland
Park 38
The Giants couldn’t
hold down their conference
rivals on senior night
Friday, Feb. 1, in Highland
Park.
Highland Park recently
received the No. 14 seed
out of 22 teams in the Libertyville
Sectional.
The Giants will begin
play in the IHSA state series
against 18th-seeded
Palatine on Monday, Feb.
11, in the Vernon Hills Regional.