There’s a simple way to describe what sophomore guard Carter Newsome does for Waukegan.

Whatever it takes for the Bulldogs to succeed.

“Play defense,” he said. “Get stops. Control the ball. Find guys when they’re open.”

Newsome has become so invaluable that Waukegan coach Ron Ashlaw doesn’t want to take him out of games.

“Even as a freshman last year, it was noticeable when he wasn’t on the floor,” Ashlaw said.

So Newsome essentially lived on the court during the third-seeded Bulldogs’ game against sixth-seeded Libertyville in the Class 4A Warren Regional semifinals on Wednesday.

He actually spent the first three quarters in the background, making Waukegan’s offense operate smoothly against the Wildcats’ stingy defense and making things difficult for their top perimeter shooters.

But Newsome then scored nine of his 10 points during two overtime periods as the Bulldogs pulled out a 64-58 victory.

Seeing Newsome come through in the clutch didn’t surprise sophomore forward Simereon Carter, who led Waukegan (17-13) with 17 points. Carter has played with Newsome for nearly a decade.

“He’s always made the right play since he was little,” Carter said. “We trust that he’ll always make the right decision and come through for the team.”

Newsome’s lone basket against the Wildcats (10-19) came with 2:30 left in the second OT and stretched Waukegan’s lead to 54-50. But since he had the ball in his hands so much, he went to the free-throw line a lot during crunchtime and made 8 of 10 attempts to help seal the Bulldogs’ win.

“We always shoot free throws for about 10 minutes before practice, and then at the end of practice we do this thing called ‘rushing free throws,’ where as a team we have to hit eight free throws in a row with four minutes on the clock,” Newsome said. “I’m not going to lie, though, I was nervous. I was shaking on some of those.”

Newsome fooled everyone in the gym, looking calm and collected at the line. He will get another chance to make an impact Friday, when Waukegan plays top-seeded Warren (28-4), the North Suburban Conference co-champion.

The Bulldogs will be counting on that.

“My teammates make me feel comfortable to play to my strengths and make me feel like I’m a good leader,” Newsome said.

Leadership isn’t a trait often associated with sophomores, but it makes sense for Newsome given his intangibles.

“He probably knows our playbook as well as anyone we’ve ever had here,” Ashlaw said. “He’s a very high basketball IQ guy and is very good at offering what the play call should be. He essentially runs our walk-throughs before games.”

Once the games begin, Newsome also makes his presence known. He is averaging 10 points while shooting 44.6% from 3-point range, three assists and almost two steals.

Going back to Newsome’s freshman season, it was already obvious he could bring a lot to the table, even though his numbers weren’t as substantial, in part because he missed several weeks with a foot injury.

Newsome has certainly made an impression on Ashlaw in a short period of time.

“Within five or six years, if he wants to go in that direction, I’m going to offer him a position on our coaching staff,” Ashlaw said.

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.