Third-quarter surge lifts Dundee-Crown
It was a third quarter to remember for Dundee-Crown and a nightmarish quarter to forget for Prairie Ridge.
Outscoring PR 20-3 in the third quarter, D-C rallied from a 13-point second quarter and eventually pulled out a 50-46 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball win over the host Wolves in Crystal Lake Wednesday night.
“Give Prairie Ridge credit. They came out played well at the beginning of the game,” said Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber. “The third quarter we played awesome on both ends. We got some turnovers, hit some 3s and got some easy baskets.”
D-C trailing PR 25-16 at halftime, assaulted the Wolves (6-16, 3-6) to start the second half with a 13-0 run. It was senior guard Brandon Rodriguez who did most of the damage for the Chargers (16-5, 7-2). Rodriguez scored 11 points during the pivotal surge as D-C turned a 9-point deficit into a 4-point lead, 29-25, with 3:50 left in the quarter.
PR, which outscored the Chargers 43-30 in the first, second and fourth quarters, didn’t score a field goal in the third until a Michael Bradshaw 12-footer in the lane with 2:55 left made the score 29-27.
In the third quarter, the Chargers made 6-of-10 shots and didn’t commit a turnover. The Wolves made only 1-of-10 and turned the ball over 9 times.
Leading 36-28 after 3 quarters, the Chargers enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at 43-33 with 5 minutes left after a layup by J.T. Beasly.
But the Wolves didn’t give up and got to within 3 of the Chargers on a putback by Kody Peterson with 2:22 left to make the score 44-41.
PR had a chance to tie the game at 44, but Ryan Gilbert’s 3 pointer from the left corner rolled in and out.
The Chargers sealed the win by making 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute, 3 by Rodriguez and 2 by Beasly.
Rodriguez paced the Chargers with 20 points, including 16 in the second half.
“We came out with a lot of intensity in the third quarter and got some points off our defense,” said Rodriguez. “This was a tough win.”
Beasly backed up Rodriguez with 13 points. Bradshaw led PR with 20 points while Steve Ticknor scored 14.
“We didn’t handle their pressure in third quarter and had way too many turnovers,” said PR coach Corky Card. “They were very physical and we couldn’t handle their physicality.”