Cary-Grove's Poor Start Leads to Road Loss

At first glance, Cary-Grove junior center Ben Bradshaw might look to be a load for opposing teams. He's built like a football player at 6-foot-4, 230 pounds.  Only the folks around him know how hard it is for him to play on a nightly basis.

That's because he went under the knife in July for a torn MCL. And it's taken some time for him to get back in playing shape.

"He's still not 100 percent,'' said Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schuetzle. "It's ice and Advil after games."

Cary fans in attendance in Grayslake Central on Tuesday night watched the visitors tie Central at 2-2 and that's a close as the Trojans would come all night. Central scored the next 15 points and went on to post a 57-33 win.

"It was a disaster,'' Schuetzle said. "We had 10 turnovers at halftime and that killed us. After that first quarter, we kind of played them even."

An outside shot from senior Matt Aulert (9 points) ended a nearly eight-minute drought but also ignited a Cary rally in the second quarter.  A fast break hoop from Jon Guay (6 points) did pull the Trojans within 17-11 midway through the second quarter. But the Rams (2-5) took a 26-14 lead to halftime.

"They shot well from the inside,'' Schuetzle said.

Also helping the Cary attack on this night were Nick Richter (7 points) and Bradshaw (6 points).

Of immediate concern to Schuetzle was the lack of scoring.

"We are shooting 34 percent as a team,'' he said. "We have to shoot better. If we can't do that, we have to hold people under 40 points."

The Trojans (3-5) did miss the services of 6-4 center Ryan Anderson. He fell victim to a sprained ankle.