Cane, CL Central too hot for Hampshire
Hampshire boys basketball coach Bob Barnett tried to implement different defensive tactics in an effort to slow down Crystal Lake Central senior sharpshooter Chase Cane.
Nothing worked.
Cane scored 28 points, including 12 in the third quarter, and canned 4 3-pointers and as Central knocked off the Whip-Purs 67-61 in Fox Valley Conference Fox Division play in Crystal Lake Friday night.
“(Cane) is a good shooter and he made some tough shots,” said Barnett, whose team split the season series with the Tigers. “We had a hand in his face a lot of times and he made them. Give him and Central credit. They knocked down shots.’’
Cane, who was 11-of-15 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range, also dished out 5 assists with 3 steals.
“Every time I came off a screen I had a great look,” said Cane. “I got some great screens and the point guards did a great job of getting me the ball in great position to score.”
The Tigers (16-5, 5-3) were able to defeat the Whip-Purs with a pivotal fourth-quarter run.
Shane Hernandez’s conventional 3-pointer with 6:25 left in the game pulled Hampshire (12-9, 5-3) even with the Tigers at 51. But Central seized control of the game with a 14-5 run.
Cane scored 7 points including a 3-pointer while Nick Marchetti scored on a pair of layups and Nick Decoster canned a 3-pointer as the Tigers turned a tie game into a 9-point advantage, 65-56, with 1:21 remaining.
The Whip-Purs didn’t give up and scored 5 unanswered points on a layup by Hernandez and a deep 3 from Brock Ralphs to climb within 4 of the Tigers, 65-61, with 53.2 seconds left. The Whip-Purs couldn’t get any closer.
Corbin Murphy backed Cane with 11 points and Marchetti scored 10 as the Tigers were red hot from 3-point range, making 9-of-13 from beyond the arc for 69 percent.
“The thing is all our 3-point attempts were excellent shots,” said Crystal Lake Central coach Rich Czeslawski. “We got good 3s from our offense. We were a mess the first time we played them. We have better chemistry now and we played very well at the defensive end.”
Tyler Watzlawick, who was saddled by foul trouble all night, scored 21 points for Hampshire. The senior enters Tuesday’s nonconference game at Marengo 3 points shy of the 1,000 point mark for his career.
Hernandez scored 18 points while Ryan Cork netted 10 with a pair of 3s for Hampshire.