Kimbrough's double-double powers Dundee-Crown
Dundee-Crown knew little about Chicago Public League opponent Robeson heading into Monday's matchup at the second annual Woodstock North MLK Classic, therefore the Chargers concentrated on executing their own schemes throughout a 54-41 nonconference victory.
“Our focus was to really play our game because we really didn't have a scouting report on them,” said D-C senior Jamel Kimbrough, who scored a team-best 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. “We didn't know what kind of talent they had on this team, so we just had to go there and play hard. And we did play hard.”
Kimbrough was supported by 12 points from guard Kevin Cronin and 9 points and 9 rebounds by senior forward Ryan Smith as Dundee-Crown (9-5) won its second straight game and third in four outings.
The Chargers used sharp cutting and good passing to take an 18-10 lead after a quarter and a 30-17 advantage at intermission.
“We found a way to get the job done,” said D-C coach Lance Huber. “I thought we passed the ball well early. In the second half we kind of got caught up in the speed of the game. They got us playing a little fast.”
The Chargers did all their damage from 2-point range, though they did attempt 7 off-target 3-pointers. D-C shot 22 of 43 from the field overall (51.2 percent), a total helped by so many layups that resulted from good cuts without the ball.
“We were moving well, so they hit me on the cuts which let me get to the hoop,” Cronin said. “We're starting to roll a little bit right now. Hopefully, we can keep it going through conference play and come out on top.”
Dundee-Crown won the rebounding battle, 31-22. Eleven of D-C's 31 rebounds were of the offensive variety. Of Kimbrough's 7 field goals, 3 were putbacks.
“He was tough on the glass and he probably could have had a couple of more (baskets) if he could have made some layups,” Huber said. “He's been a very, very pleasant surprise this year.”
“I always have to rebound, contribute my role to the team,” Kimbrough said.
Robeson pulled within 12-8 in the first quarter on a 3-pointer from 6-foot-4 forward Demarcus Head (game-high 18 points), but the Chargers finished the first half on a 18-7 run, capped by a transition layup from Bruce Dantzler and a pull-up jump shot by Will Stupar.
Cronin scored 6 points during the run, which he ignited with a transition layup after a made Robeson basket.
Cronin has upped his level of play of late, thanks to some film study.
“We sat down and we watched some of his highlights on game film and we talked about some things he needed to do to be successful,” Huber said. “Credit to Kevin, he's taken that coaching and really improved his game. I'm really proud of him the way he's done that.”
The Chargers return to the court Wednesday at Huntley in an important matchup in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference.