Huntley fights past Dundee-Crown
Getting good looks at the basket Saturday night was tough for both Dundee-Crown and Huntley.
The Red Raiders found just enough offense in the fourth quarter to beat the visiting Chargers, 45-38, in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball play.
“We played tough. There’s no question about it,” said Huntley senior Bryce Only, who finished with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals. “We didn’t shoot the ball all that well. We played good defense. We toughened up. We got rebounds, got to loose balls.”
The game was tied at 30-30 heading into the fourth quarter. In the first 3 minutes of the quarter, the teams combined for 9 turnovers. Huntley (11-6, 5-0) had 4 turnovers and was 1-for-3 from the floor, but had a 33-32 lead as the Chargers (11-5, 2-2) had 5 turnovers and 1 basket on their only shot.
A Jake Wagner layup and offensive putbacks from Only and Amanze Egekeze gave the Red Raiders a 39-32 lead. Following an Only steal, D-C’s seventh turnover of the quarter, an inside basket from Egekeze made it 41-32 with 1:35 remaining. The Chargers wouldn’t get any closer than 5 the rest of the way.
“We had about a 5-minute stretch where we had trouble scoring,” D-C coach Lance Huber said. “They just planted Egekeze right in the paint. It was tough to get something going to the bucket. We had a little miscommunication on a couple passes.”
The Chargers started quickly and led 9-3 midway through the first quarter after Brandon Rodriguez hit a 3-pointer. Huntley didn’t lead until an offensive rebound and putback from Zach Gorney with 4:29 remaining in the second quarter. Neither team would lead by more than 4 until the Red Raiders’ run in the fourth.
“I think our team took a step in the right direction tonight, fighting through some adversity with those turnovers,” said Huntley coach Marty Manning, whose team had 9 first-half turnovers. “Dundee-Crown is good defensively too. Mental toughness was good for us coming out of halftime.”
The Red Raiders shot 42 percent (18-of-43) and outrebounded D-C, 32-19. Egekeze led Huntley with 14 points and added 7 rebounds. Gorney and Wagner each had 7 points.
D-C was just 15-for-42 (36 percent) from the floor. Rodriguez finished with 15 points. Dylan Kissack had 11, only 2 in the second half. J.T. Beasley added 8 points, all in the second half.