Huntley stays unbeaten in FVC Valley
With Huntley’s boys basketball team trailing Prairie Ridge in the second quarter, Marty Manning called a timeout. The Red Raiders’ coach got in his players’ faces about their intensity, or lack thereof. The Raiders responded with a 12-0 run and eventually cruised to a 56-30 home victory Tuesday night.
Jake Wagner scored 12 points, and Amanze Egekeze added 10 as Huntley improved to 13-6 overall and 7-0 in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division.
“We got after them a little bit for their intensity and toughness,” Manning said about the second-quarter timeout. “The coaches said that we went 41-13 the rest of the game. The guys played with heart. We got some turnovers and got some easy baskets for ourselves.”
Huntley held the Wolves to just 10 second-half points. The Raiders forced 24 turnovers for the game, held the Wolves to 33 percent shooting and outrebounded the visitors, 22-13.
“I thought our defense for the most part was pretty good,” said Manning. “We forced some turnovers. They missed some shots and that always helped, but I thought we did a much better job rebounding and not giving up second-chance opportunities.”
Tommy Regan and Bryce Only added 8 points apiece, and Zach Gorney contributed 7 for the Red Raiders. Only also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Michael Bradshaw led Prairie Ridge with 8 points while Steven Ticknor added 7.
With 4:22 left in the first half and Huntley trailing 17-15, Manning called timeout. After that discussion, Egekeze blocked a shot. Only grabbed the rebound and drove the length of the court for a layup while being fouled. He missed the free throw, but Gorney grabbed the rebound, got fouled, and converted 2 free throws to put Huntley ahead for good.
Wagner hit a 3-pointer, Egekeze converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, Only scored on a baseline drive and the rout was on.
With Egekeze scoring 6 points in the third quarter, Huntley outscored the visitors 13-5. The Raiders continued to pull away in the final period, in part by making their free throws. Huntley made 8 of 10 foul shots in the fourth quarter, and 19 of 24 for the game.