There's no stopping Jacobs against Dundee-Crown
Jacobs junior Chrishawn Orange said the team's motto is "Get stops, make shots."
The Golden Eagles got plenty of stops Friday night and made just enough shots to beat Dundee-Crown 43-33 in the Class 4A Crystal Lake Central regional championship game.
"We really pride ourselves on our defense," said Orange, who had 3 steals. "That's what teams need to expect from us."
Third-seeded Jacobs (18-13) held the fifth-seeded Chargers (10-18) to a combined 6 points in the second and third quarters. The Golden Eagles led 8-6 after the first quarter but turned that into a 28-12 advantage after three quarters.
The Chargers were 2-for-16 from the floor in those two quarters. They didn't score in the second half until Nick Munson's 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining in the third quarter.
"What's been consistent for us all year is defense and rebounding," said Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts, whose team outrebounded D-C, 33-29. "That's a great thing to be consistent in. Night in and night out it's something we can control."
Freshman Cameron Krutwig scored 8 points in the first half to help Jacobs to a 17-9 halftime lead. Orange, who didn't score in the first half, scored all 11 points for the Golden Eagles in the third quarter.
D-C was just 5-for-25 (20 percent) in the first three quarters. Orange hit 1 of 2 free throws to open the fourth quarter to give Jacobs a 17-point lead, 29-12. The Chargers used an 8-0 run, capped by a steal and layup from Zach Pochop, to get within 9 at 29-20 with 4:47 remaining. They got as close as 36-29 before the Golden Eagles increased the lead back up to double figures, 42-29, with 41 seconds remaining.
Pochop led the Chargers with 10 points, all in the fourth quarter. Malik Dunner added 9 points. D-C shot 26.8 percent (11-for-41).
"We just had hard time scoring," Chargers coach Lance Huber said. "I thought defensively we were right there. We executed our game plan how we wanted to defensively. Offensively, we just couldn't get shots to fall."
Orange finished with 14 points. Krutwig added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kenton Mack had 8 points and 7 rebounds. Jacobs shot 40.5 percent (15-for-37).
Jacobs will play South Elgin, which pulled off two upsets to win the St. Charles North regional, at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the second semifinal of the Elgin sectional. Huntley plays Rockford Auburn on Tuesday in the other semifinal.