Harlan aerial attack sinks Dundee-Crown

Dundee-Crown expected Harlan to attack by driving to the basket. The Falcons launched an aerial barrage instead.

Harlan shooters canned 6 of their first 7 attempts from 3-point range to take a 17-point halftime lead, an advantage they ballooned to 26 points early in the third quarter before settling for a 60-42 victory in the fifth-place game of the 37th Annual Elgin Holiday Tournament Thursday.

Deonte Johnson had the hot hand for Harlan (7-1). He connected on his first 5 shots, including 4 from beyond the arc, on his way to a game-best 18-point performance.

“They came out doing more than we expected,” Dundee-Crown senior guard Bruce Dantzler said. “We watched them on film and they couldn’t shoot that well. We planned for them to drive but they just lit us up. If you look at the shot chart, they didn’t take many shots from the paint. They just rained down on us and we weren’t ready. It was unexpected.”

Dundee-Crown (6-6) was behind the 8-ball from the beginning. Harlan jumped to a 22-7 lead after one quarter, helped by 5 turnovers from D-C, which missed 8 of 11 shots in the period. It was a far cry from the accuracy the Chargers demonstrated a day earlier in a victory over Buffalo Grove

“It wasn’t the way you want to start a game,” Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. “We played so well yesterday and we didn’t follow it up well. It’s like I told the guys, we probably weren’t as good as we were yesterday and we’re probably not as bad as we looked today.

“Hopefully, we can recognize some of our weaknesses, build on those and have a strong finish.”

Senior Brandon Rodriguez led the Chargers with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Dantzler scored only 4 points but he grabbed 8 rebounds and sparked consecutive fast-break baskets in the fourth quarter with assists.

Rodriguez said facing teams like La Lumiere and Harlan can only help the Chargers heading into Fox Valley Conference Valley Division play in January.

“We played some really good teams here, like really, really good teams,” Rodriguez said. “I think we could have done a little better, but at least we know what to expect after facing all of them.”

The Chargers finished 2-2 at the Elgin Tournament, where they will compete again next season.

“I like this tournament,” Huber said. “You see tons of different styles. The hard thing is sometimes your style doesn’t match up the other team’s style. That might have been the case today.”