Wicks, Huntley roll on senior night

Riley Wicks was in a bit of a shooting slump, so the Huntley senior sought out a little help.

"I went to the gym with my dad the other day," he said. "He's probably my best critic and helps me with my shot a lot of the time. I don't know why I don't use him more."

Whatever the elder Wicks said worked. Riley Wicks hit 4 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 14 points as the Red Raiders celebrated senior night by routing Crystal Lake South, 55-28, in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball action Tuesday night.

Amanze Egekeze added 9 points and 7 rebounds, as all 9 seniors contributed at least one basket for Huntley (18-7, 10-2), which wrapped up the Valley title last week.

"We had a difficult senior night last year, and it was good to get those guys the win," said Huntley coach Marty Manning. "They deserved it."

The Raiders still had bitter memories of being blown out on senior night last year.

"We didn't want to go out like that," said Egekeze. "I thought we came out fired up and had a much better performance than last year, obviously."

Huntley wasted no time setting the tone for the game, racing out to an 8-0 lead. After the Gators cut it to 11-4, Huntley reeled off another 10 points in a row. The Raiders increased the lead to 30-10 by halftime and 46-16 after 3.

"I thought our defense was outstanding," Manning said. "Our guys played with a lot of passion and that showed up on the defensive end."

Blake Jacobs, another senior, added 7 points for Huntley.

Kyle Bartusch led South (15-11, 4-8). with 11 points, but no one else had more than 4.

With Egekeze and Zach Gorney leading the way, Huntley controlled the backboards, with a 26-17 advantage. The Raiders held the Gators to 10-for-38 shooting (26 percent) and exactly doubled that percentage on offense, hitting 20 of 38.