Lake Zurich guard Mike Travlos got his day started Friday with a couple hundred shots in the Bears’ home gym.
When he took the floor in West Chicago’s gym against Marmion at the Wildcat Turkey Tournament, the early work seemed to pay off. Travlos dropped three 3-pointers and posted 13 points in the first quarter as the Bears got off to a fast start and cruised to the 79-63 win.
Lake Zurich led 9-0 in the opening minutes and 25-10 after the first quarter. Will McClaughtry took over with eight of his 14 points in the second quarter as the Bears took a 45-26 lead into the break.
“We thought it was important (to get out fast) because we are tied with two other teams in the tournament (with a 3-1 record), so coach really wanted to get our intensity and energy up,” Travlos said. “It worked.”
While Travlos was doing his work, the offense actually came from everywhere for the Bears in the opening two quarters, as nine different players found their way into the scorebook, with seven of them scoring at least four points apiece.
Travlos finished with a game-high 21 and Brad Kruse posted 13 for Lake Zurich.
“That was great, we like to distribute (the points),” Travlos said. “Some get more than others but it’s good for everyone to get some shots up and get some scoring.”
Marmion (0-4) couldn’t find the basket in the first half but improved in the second half with 37 points in the final two quarters. Michael Sheehan, Jake Esp and Jordan Glasgow all scored 13 points apiece for the Cadets.
Marmion was able to get its full-court defense going in the second half and cut the lead to 13 in the closing minutes, but the Cadets could never battle back from the early deficit.
“We came out like we were at a funeral, we had no life, no talk and no energy,” said Marmion coach Ryan Paradise. “They came out and hit shots, and that just compounded on our end and sunk us in a hole.”
