Underrated Grayslake Central's defense cools down red-hot Lakes

There are a few hundred high school basketball games around the area over the busy Martin Luther King weekend, and no team emerged from all the action with more of a buzz around it than Lakes.

The Eagles entered the weekend barely over .500 and knocked off Deerfield on Saturday and No. 13 Fremd on Monday.

Grayslake Central was watching.

“There is an account on X that ranks all the teams in Lake County, and we were No. 6,” Rams senior Alex Granville said. “[Lakes] was ahead of us. They are a pretty good team, but we thought we were better. We wanted to come out and show everyone how much better we think we are.”

Grayslake Central held Lakes without a field goal for an eight-minute stretch of the first half and went on to win 54-31 on Friday in Lake Villa.

“Central just defends at such a high level,” Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “They took us out of it early and it just compounded from there.”

The Rams are deep and experienced. Granville led with 14 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Carson Woods scored 13 and senior forward Cole Halverson added 12 points.

“This year there are more people looking up to me, so when I get frustrated, I have to stay composed and lead the team,” Granville said. “Since the Wauconda loss we have stepped up. We wanted to run our offense tonight and play really good defense.”

Cordell Johnson, a wide and strong 6-3 senior, was a major factor in the post. The defensive end finished with six points and 10 rebounds.

“[Johnson] is having a really solid season,” Grayslake Central coach Brian Centella said. “He scores in the flow of the offense. He’s so solid and coachable. He plays smart and defends and is an unsung hero for this team.”

Grayslake Central (15-6, 6-1 Northern Lake County) has been one of the area’s most underrated programs since Centella took over. The Eagles have won at least 20 games the past four seasons and advanced to a supersectional in 2023.

The playoff path in Class 3A is promising this season, but Centella isn’t looking ahead. He’s focused on a big matchup against Deerfield on Saturday.

“Certainly, when you take DePaul Prep out it looks different,” Centella said.

Lakes (11-8, 5-2) shot 3 for 24 from three-point range and nothing really went right for the team. But the Eagles’ upside, which emerged against Fremd, was still plain to see.

Juniors Dorian Pullen, Carter Martin and Ben Newcomb and senior Aidan Hopkins are crafty, stylish players.

Newcomb, who scored 98 points in four games at the Hinkle Holiday Classic last month, finished with eight points. Martin also scored eight. Hopkins added five points and seven rebounds.

“We have some guys that can score,” Snyder said. “We missed a lot of shots that were falling the last five games. That’s how it goes sometimes. And they are hard to come back on because they defend so well.”