Boys Basketball: Cam Cerese scores 37 to lead Lake Park past St. Charles East

ROSELLE – A jumper from Lake Park guard Josh Gerber with 3:12 left in the second quarter proved to be a bit more significant than one may think at first glance.

That was the first basket a Lake Park player besides junior Cam Cerese made in the game. Cerese scored 16 consecutive points.

Cerese has been an offensive juggernaut all season for the Lancers. Lake Park’s 68-57 victory over St. Charles East on Jan. 20 was nothing the program hasn’t seen before. Cerese finished with 37 points, just shy of the career-high 40 he achieved last month.

“I give credit to my teammates. They try to find me open,” Cerese said. “People are face guarding me, so we have a lot of plays to get back-door layups and stuff like that. I trust my game. I put a lot of work in the offseason and it’s paying off.”

Cerese was elevated to a full-time role this year. His role a year ago was to play defense and rebound. While those are elements he’s still expected to bring, his offense has stolen the show.

Cerese, who was sick all week and missed practice, showcased his offensive skills in a variety of ways Friday – slashing to the basket, converting turnaround jumpers in the post and launching deep shots from the 3-point arc. He was 11 of 19 from the field and had 14 points on free throws. Cerese also finished with five assists.

“We’re lucky he’s on our team and I can’t believe he’s only a junior,” Lancers coach Billy Pitcher said. “I pinch myself. I get to coach him another 45 games. He just put us on his back tonight. We were struggling to score and I thought he made good decisions.

“[St. Charles East] was doing a really good job. They stayed home on [Dennasio] LaGioia and [Tommy] Rochford and so he drove it. Then when the help came, he made the pass. He hit Gerber a few times. Josh, I thought, really stepped up and found some of those little openings and finished, so I’m really proud and happy of Josh.”

The Lancers (11-7, 6-2 DuKane Conference) haven’t suffered lopsided losses. Their seven losses have been by a combined 20 points.

“Every game is close, so each possession really matters and we have to get stops,” Cerese said. “Rebounding is very important.”

Cerese had 23 points at halftime and kept the momentum into the third quarter. The Saints began the second half with four consecutive turnovers and weren’t able to find a bucket until Trent Bush’s jumper with 2:56 left in the quarter. By that point, the Lancers had run off to a 15-point lead.

The Saints were able to pull to within 11 points with 3:50 remaining, but the early mistakes proved to be costly. It spoiled what was a relatively steady first-half showing by the Saints, who led for a quarter and a half.

“We mismanaged a few possessions in that late second quarter. We had the lead for the majority of the first half,” Saints coach Pat Woods said. “Credit [Cerese]. I think he had this game circled. We held him to six points last time and he went off on us. He did a great job with the ball and attacking the basket. We really struggled to guard him.

“In the second half, we start with four turnovers in a row and a five-point [Lake Park] lead goes to a 16-point lead in less than two minutes. Then we’re chasing the rest of the game.”

The Saints (9-11, 3-4) were paced by Jacob Vrankovich’s 13 points. Drew Clarke had 11 and Steven Call had 10.

“I thought Vrankovich did a nice job attacking the basket,” Woods said. “We’re a hot and cold team and when we get cold, we struggle. ... We’re not ever going to step on the court and just dominate anyone. It’s going to be a fight from start to finish, but I did like the fight. I liked the way we finished. I like we didn’t give up. We’ve just got to be better in spurts.”

Gerber had 13 points for Lake Park, a career-high. Rochford had six points and three rebounds.

https://www.shawlocal.com/kane-county-chronicle/sports/2023/01/21/boys-basketball-cam-cerese-scores-37-to-lead-lake-park-past-st-charles-east/