Feb. 14--Devin Gage's first-half point production and effort in Saturday's game failed to meet up with Curie coach Mike Oliver's high standards for him.
Gage, a DePaul recruit, sat out two stretches in the first half due to a lack of energy against Farragut in the Public League quarterfinals.
"I had a slow start, maybe because I'm not used to playing early games on Saturday," Gage said. "Coach got on me to play harder."
Gage got the message, scoring 16 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to lead No. 4 Curie to a 59-55 come-from-behind win against Farragut.
The Condors (20-4) will play No. 5 Kenwood in the CPS semifinals Friday at Quest Multisport.
Gage broke his scoring drought by tallying six points in the third and 10 in the fourth.
"Devin has to come with more energy because our guys feed off him," Oliver said. "When Devin decides to play, he can get to the basket and create shots for other players. He's one of the best players in the state. We can't wait until the fourth quarter every game for him."
The Condors continued their season-long habit of winning close games. Behind a strong effort from Dulan Scott, the Admirals (18-10) led by double digits for parts of the second quarter until a defensive adjustment by the Condors turned the game around. Scott, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds, scored 12 points in the first half, but tallied just seven in the second half after Curie started trapping him.
"I was going good in the first half, but they started running traps at me and it was hard to find my teammates," Scott said.
Curie guard Allante Pickens (15 points) hit two 3s early in the fourth, and Gage followed with eight points in a three-minute flurry to pad Curie's lead to 54-45.
"I knew my team needed me in the fourth quarter, like they do every game," Gage said. "I knew I had to come out and play in the fourth."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Player of the game: Devin Gage, Curie, 19 points, 4 steals.
Key performers: Curie -- Allante Pickens, 15 points, 3 3-pointers. Farragut -- Dulan Scott, 19 points, 12 rebounds; Tawone Keith, 6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks.
