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ST. CHARLES – Lake Park’s Rob Munaco is starting to make a name in his second sport.
Or his third?
Munaco, a three-sport athlete who also plays football and baseball, is turning into a standout in basketball this winter. He showed off why in a 46-45 win at St. Charles East on Saturday.
The 5-foot-9 Munaco, a tough-as-nails player who befits his running back/defensive back attitude, is enjoying the spotlight leading the Lancers’ offense this season.
His role on the varsity basketball team last season was mainly watching then-point guard extraordinaire Camden Cerese destroy opponents most games with his scoring prowess.
“We had a great team last year with seven seniors on the team, so last year was a lot of learning,” Munaco said. “I played in a lot of JV games and learned a lot from the bench. I got to watch what the culture of this team should be, so now I’m ready to step up and take a bigger role. I only played if we were up big late in games last year.”
Munaco is the lead point guard now. He took a page out of Cerese’s book with several game-turning plays. He scored two straight baskets in the final minute of the second overtime to power Lake Park to a thrilling road victory in DuKane Conference play.
Lake Park senior guard Luca Stella had 16 points and Fred Battaglia added 14 in the low-scoring game.
Sam Tisch led the Saints (4-3, 1-2) with 14 points and Bradley Monkemeyer had 10.
“There were a lot of positives to take away from this game,” St. Charles East coach Robert Klemm said. “Lake Park plays the game really hard. Every game in our conference is going to be a dogfight. I’m proud of the way our guys competed and fought. We were down in the fourth. We came back and there’s a lot of fight in our guys, which I loved to see. We will continue to learn.”
Munaco stepped up his game in the fourth quarter and during the second four-minute overtime. He had 10 points but tallied four in the fourth and four in the second OT for the Lancers (3-5, 1-2).
“My role on the team is to take care of the ball and play tough defense and run the offense,” Munaco said. “When the defense is stacked up on Freddy and Luka, like in the end, I knew they weren’t going to be in the gap to help when I drove. I knew what I had to do for our team.”
Munaco scored on a highlight-reel drive to give the Lancers a 44-43 edge with 53.2 seconds left in the second overtime. After St. Charles East’s Gavin Szerlong scored to give the home team a one-point lead, Munaco swished an eight-foot floater with 3.1 left for the winning basket.
“I was really proud of how tough we were and how well we took care of the ball,” Lake Park coach Billy Pitcher said. “We were disciplined and strong with the ball. Munaco was able to make a great play. Rob is so tough with his size and he works so hard in the weight room. He’s our coach on the floor, a captain on the floor.
“He was able to get past his game, just a step and made a great decision and was able to score. This group is gaining experience and confidence with the win.”
The 6-3 Stella, a physical player with good handles, scored 10 of Lake Park’s first 16 points.
“Our team was putting in the effort and keeping the energy up,” Stella said. “We did well on the defensive side. It’s great to see the energy of our team and us coming together in overtime. In the first quarter, we were running our sets. I was getting some open looks. (St. Charles East) started helping out more, so someone else had to step up. Rob and the rest of the team did that. It was a great team effort.”