Huntley notches big win over Boylan

ROCKFORD — When Huntley needed a basket, there wasn’t much doubt who the Red Raiders would turn to.

Amanze Egekeze made a floater in the lane with 3 seconds left to lift Huntley over Rockford Boylan, 57-55, in nonconference boys basketball action Saturday night.

Egekeze drove the lane and lofted one from about 12 feet away that swished through. Boylan had a final chance to tie, but Egekeze intercepted the long inbounds pass to preserve the victory for Huntley (4-3).

“It was basically just an isolation play we run,” Egekeze said. “I was trying to wait until it got to only 7 seconds to go. Luckily, I got a quick first step. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, I wanted to rise up and shoot over him.”

“That’s a play that we practice a ton and we get it in out best players hands to make a play and Amanze made a great play,” said Huntley coach Marty Manning.

Egekeze finished with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks. Zach Gorney added 12 points and 6 boards, and Jack Bessey scored 10 points off the bench for the Red Raiders.

The game featured 13 lead changes, but Huntley led most of the way in the late going. The Raiders led 55-50, but Brock Stull completed a three-point play and, after a Huntley miss, Demry Croft scored for Boylan to tie it.

Huntley got the ball back with 36 seconds left and Manning called timeout with 10 seconds on the clock to set up the final play.

Beating the Titans on their home floor was a big win for the Raiders.

“I told the guys before this game, ‘This is a playoff game, a playoff atmosphere,’ ” said Egekeze. “This is a team that has had a lot of success winning. They won sectional last year, so if we want to reach our goals, these are the teams we have to beat.”

Manning agreed.

“We scheduled Boylan because we know how good they are year in and year out and to beat them on their home floor is a really good win for us,” he said.

The Raiders did the little things right, as well. Manning pointed to Brock Jacobs’ defense on Stull as a key to the win. The Red Raiders also outrebounded the hosts, 26-13, and held Boylan to 44 percent shooting while shooting 53 percent themselves.