Boys Basketball: Tanner Koziol back to where it began at Lake Park, leads team past Wheaton North

Tanner Koziol is back where he began his high school career.

After spending his first two years attending Lake Park, Koziol experienced a whirlwind tour of the world of big-time football until deciding to finish his last semester back where he started.

Before returning to Lake Park for his final semester, Koziol played wide receiver at two different high schools.

“My plan was to graduate early, but my mom said I should have a senior year because COVID-19 kind of took it away,” Koziol said. “I ended up coming back here, and was in my last period of class and (Lake Park basketball) coach (Billy) Pitcher walked in at the beginning of February and said I should play basketball. And here I am, now playing basketball.”

Koziol looked right at home on the basketball court, playing an inside role for the size-depleted Lancers in his season debut on Saturday night. Koziol scored eight points and snagged seven rebounds to help carry Lake Park to a 46-35 victory over Wheaton North in DuKane Conference play.

Senior guard Vito LaGioia had 14 points and Sebastian Blachut and Cam Ranson both scored eight for the Lancers (5-7, 4-6). Troy Hegranes scored 13 points and Connor Haake added seven for the Falcons (9-3, 7-3).

Lake Park coach Billy Pitcher was happy to add the 6-foot-5 Koziol to his rotation, just in time to face the Falcons, who have eight football players on their roster.

“Tanner’s a monster,” Pitcher said. “This is his first basketball game in 25 months. He’s made us better on the court, and in practice.

“He’s given us a huge spark. We’re five guards and now can go four guards and have a big and can pressure because we have a rim protector back there. He changes the complexion of the team. We also had some guys out of position, and now they can play their natural position.

Koziol, a Ball State football recruit, played his junior season at Nazareth in LaGrange Park. A wide receiver, Koziol was intrigued by the opportunity to catch passes from Nazareth quarterback and Michigan signee J.J. McCarthy — one of the top quarterbacks in the country for the Class of 2021.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit and football was delayed in Illinois, Koziol transferred to Mount Vernon High School in Indiana. Now, after transferring back to Lake Park and waiting the 30-day period, Koziol is back to playing sports in a Lancer uniform.

He scored four points in the first quarter to lead the Lancers to an early 14-2 lead.

“I liked being back and knew my job was to get boards because we have a shorter lineup,” Koziol said. “This team is fun.”

Before Koziol’s arrival, LaGioia and Blachut were handling a heavy load for the Lancers. In the fourth quarter, Blachut scored 6 points and LaGioia had 5 to keep the Falcons from mounting a comeback.

“Tanner was a huge help for us, getting rebounds and blocking shots,” LaGioia said. “Today we came ready to play. We knew we had to step up.”

Blachut said the Lancers are aiming to build on their two-game winning streak heading into the final week of the season.

“We played with heart tonight and had a chip on our shoulders and came out and played tough,” Blachut said. “We didn’t start the season the way we wanted to, but now we’re on a roll and know we can play.”

Wheaton North coach Dave Brackmann said his team could build momentum for a consistent length of time. The Falcons played start at the end of the third to take a 25-20 lead, but LaGioia drilled a 3-pointer to spark a game-turning run.

“We weren’t ready to play, and I kind of sensed it before the game,” Brackmann said. “We had a couple of flurries, but credit them for taking it to us.”