HP_030719

hplandmark.com sports
the highland park landmark | March 7, 2019 | 31
Boys Basketball
Giants stymie Scouts, hang with Patriots in regional
Athlete of the Month
David Jaffe, Freelance Reporter
1st-and-3
Stars of the
Week
photo credit
1. Val Oplchenski
(ABOVE).
The Highland Park
big man offered
up his patented
two-way game,
helping limit both
Lake Forest’s and
Stevenson’s post
offense during
regional play.
2. George Giese.
The Highland Park
Giants hockey
player scored
two goals in the
second period of a
state playoff game
to pull his team
to within striking
distance last
week.
3. Cole Beermann.
The senior
Highland Parker
scored 18 points
in the regional
semifinal upset
of Lake Forest,
helping to keep
his team’s season
alive.
Andrew Natinsky flies in for the open layup for the Giants in their
regional-opening win Feb. 25 over Lake Forest. Nicole Carrow/22nd
Century Media
Compared to how it played
Stevenson earlier this season,
Highland Park looked like a different
squad when it took on the
top seed in the IHSA Class 4A
Waukegan Sectional on Feb. 26.
Four weeks ago, the Giants
lost to the Patriots by 30 points,
but this time, the Giants set the
tone defensively, throwing Stevenson
off its game for the first
quarter and a half of the Lake
Forest Regional semifinal.
Unfortunately, for the other
two and a half quarters, Stevenson
looked like the same team
that earned the sectional’s top
seed as it earned the 49-37 win.
“I really like how we came
out in this game. We played
fearless and our defense set the
tone early,” Highland Park coach
Paul Harris said. “You have to
give [the Patriots] credit though.
They do a very good job stretching
the floor with three really
good shooters, four with certain
lineups. They’re an experienced,
well-coached team. But we
fought until the end.”
The Giants advanced to the
semifinal thanks to an all-around
performance in a 56-43 quarterfinal
win over better-seeded host
Lake Forest on Feb. 25.
Lake Forest’s Jake Fisher may
have totaled 27 points, but that’s
as much as the Giants were going
to give the Scouts.
The Giants used suffocating
post defense and quick transition
to upend the Scouts.
Cole Beermann led the Giants
with 18 points, while Natinsky
had 11, Billy Rudman 10,
Oplchenski 9 and Zach Fagenholz
had 5.
It was going to be an uphill
battle a night later against the Patriots,
but the Giants held them in
check in the first quarter.
Then, Fagenholz scored the
first five of the second quarter to
put his team in front 14-9.
Stevenson, however, proved
too difficult to contain, and its
ball movement improved leading
to better looks for its shooters.
It scored 12 straight late in the
second quarter to go ahead 30-19
and take control of the game.
“It was the playoffs so we
knew we had to come out and
play at a high level with high
intensity,” said Natinsky (12
points). “I thought we made
things tough on them. They did a
good job adjusting though.”
Overall the Giants were happy
with their shot selection but
while they converted some early
on, they just couldn’t knock
down all their open looks.
“I think we took better shots
than the last time we faced
them,” Harris said. “But we had
some good looks that we didn’t
hit. I think the first game showed
us areas we needed to improve.
We had crisper passes and better
ball movement. We improved a
lot from the first matchup.”
The Giants finish the season
13-17 and 5-5 in the Central
Suburban League North, but the
record did not impact how much
they enjoyed playing together.
“They showed a lot of resilience,”
Harris said. “We had
some tough losses, some close
ones and some where we got
pasted, but they would show up
the next day always wanting to
play.”
The Highland Park players appreciated
their time as Giants.
“I loved every aspect of playing
at Highland Park,” said Natinsky,
a senior. “We had a great
bond with each other. Every day
we played for each other.”
Highland Park gymnast Lindsay
Weisskopf won the February Athlete
of the Month competition. 22nd Century
Media File Photo
Weisskopf helps earn
first win since 2017
Michal Dwojak, Sports Editor
The Giants’ Athlete of the Month
drought finally ended thanks to gymnast
Lindsay Weisskopf, who won the
first monthly honor of 2019. Kirby
Bartelstein was the last Giant to win
the honor in March 2017.
Weisskopf won the contest with 903
votes to edge fellow Giant and girls
basketball player Addie Budnik.
Voting lasted from Feb. 10-25. Vote
this month from March 10-25 at HP-
Landmark.com.
Local Athlete of the Month
candidates
Highland Park High School
• Cole Beermann, boys
basketball
• Konrad Schmid, boys swimming
and diving
• George Giese, boys hockey
• Lucy Heller, girls hockey
Listen Up
“We had some tough losses, some close ones
and some where we got pasted, but they would
show up the next day always wanting to play..”
Paul Harris — Highland Park boys basketball coach on his
team’s 2018-19 players
tune in
Boys Water Polo Tournament
•8 a.m. start Saturday, March 9, at Highland
Park High School (Barrington, Elk Grove, Glenbrook
North, Maine East and Prospect)
Index
29 - Girls basketball coach, player of year
27 - Athlete of the Week
Fastbreak is compiled by Editor Erin Yarnall. Send any questions
or comments to erin@hplandmark.com.