Polo 67, Freeport Aquin 62: Matt Scholl, honored before Friday’s game for reaching the 1,000 point mark earlier this season, showed he could he could effect the game in so many other ways.

Scholl recorded a quadruple double with 14 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals to help Polo edge Freeport Aquin 67-62.

Scholl scored 10 of his 14 points in the first quarter to help the Marcos get out to an 8-2 lead that was cut to one by the end of the quarter. He was dominant around the rim in the quarter, grabbing nine of his 16 rebounds.

“That’s what I like to do is rebound,” Scholl said.

Scholl used his 6-foot-3 frame to muscle his way for rebound after rebound. He kept possessions alive by getting seven of his rebounds on the offensive end.

“He’s actually more dangerous without the ball than he is with it,” Aquin coach Rich Chang said. “When he’s backside without the ball, Matt Scholl is extremely dangerous because he finds a way to get a big offensive rebound. He had two or three put-backs in the first quarter alone.”

The game went back and forth until late in the third quarter. The Marcos went on a 10-4 run that spilled over to the beginning of the fourth to take a 57-49 lead.

“Our defense tightened up and we were able to get some steals and lay-ups to get that cushion,” Polo coach Matt Messer said.
Scholl got his hand on several of those steals.

With Scholl taking command in other aspects of the game, Matt VanOosten took over the scoring burden in the second half. The point guard didn’t score in the first half but scored 10 in the third quarter and four in the fourth to help lift the Marcos.

“He got everybody involved in the first half, and in the second half he let the game come to him,” Messer said. “That’s the sign of a great point guard and a great player.”

The Marcos led by five with 90 seconds to play, but Jordan Pontius’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to two. After an Aquin miss, Scholl split a pair of free throws to go up three with 43 seconds left. The Bulldogs had two good looks at 3-pointers, but both rimmed out, and Jake Dollmeyer made two free throws to put Polo back up five.

“We just kept clawing back,” Chang said. “Every time they scored, we’d answer. If they hit a three, we’d hit a three.”

The Marcos let Aquin climb back into the game by missing free throws, but they were able to make enough to hold off the Bulldogs.

“Even though we didn’t free throws that well, we shot them well enough to get the win,” Scholl said. “We played a little better defense, too.”

-GateHouse News Service