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Jacobs hopes to keep roll going at Dundee-Crown

Maybe playing on rival Dundee-Crown's home court will slow the momentum of the Jacobs boys basketball team.

Little else has lately.

Finally nearing 100 percent health and playing of late like the dynamic team they were predicted to be this season, the Golden Eagles enter Wednesday's 7 p.m. Fox Valley Conference Valley Division rivalry matchup riding a 6-game winning streak and brimming with confidence.

Jacobs (14-5, 4-0) opened the season far from healthy. Cameron Krutwig, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound sophomore center, in November went from wearing a walking boot on his broken foot to playing in games just a few days later. It took Krutwig until the middle of January to fully regain his basketball stamina "and that has really reflected in his play lately," Jacobs coach Jim Roberts said. "He's about back to 100 percent at this point."

Last week Krutwig scored 12 points to go with 10 rebounds in a win at Elgin, he posted 15 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in a victory over Huntley and he scored 12 points and grabbed 7 boards in a win at Cary-Grove.

The talented sophomore plays with a whatever-it-takes mentality.

"You've got to find a way to win," Krutwig said last week after the Cary-Grove win. "It doesn't matter if every guy has 4 points and you win a game. Just keep going and going and find a way to win."

Like Krutwig, starting senior guard Kenton Mack worked his way back from a preseason injury. Following a procedure to repair a meniscus tear that delayed his season debut until mid-December, the Northern Michigan recruit is close to regaining top form.

"It has been a process and he's still coming, but I think we're close," Roberts said of Mack, who last Friday against Huntley scored a season high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with 6 steals, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.

Krutwig and Mack combine with leading scorer Chrishawn Orange (15.5 ppg) to form the most dynamic trio in the FVC. Supported in the starting lineup by sharpshooting guard Cory Boeckh - a senior who has connected on 38 of 119 attempts from 3-point range (31.9 percent) - low-post man Matt Bindi (7.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg) and sixth man Mike Canady (5.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg), the Golden Eagles possess size, speed and athleticism.

"They're very talented and they have some really, really, really nice players," D-C coach Lance Huber said ."You don't see too many 6-foot-8, 250-pound guys like Krutwig in the Fox Valley or in high school basketball for that matter. And he's not just some big stiff. He's really, really good. And they have the pieces to go with Orange. Mack, Boeckh and Bindi can all shoot it. We have to bring our A game to compete with this team."

Dundee-Crown (6-12, 2-2) snapped a 4-game skid last Friday by eking out a 41-40 win at McHenry. Senior guard Caleb Parson hit a 3-pointer with two seconds to play as the Chargers rallied from 10 points down with six minutes to play.

The challenge for D-C is to solve a Jacobs defense that has grown stingier as the season has progressed. During their 6-game winning streak the Golden Eagles have limited opponents to an average of 37.2 ppg.

The challenge for Jacobs is to limit the production of D-C senior Kiwi Seals, who earlier this month scored a school record 42 points in a victory over Cary-Grove. A 42-percent shooter from the field, Seals leads the Chargers in scoring (17.4) and rebounding (4.9).

The way Roberts sees it, the Golden Eagles are playing as much against themselves as they are the Chargers, a team they've beaten four straight times since 2013.

"We're still relatively young in our season as far as having everyone 100 percent healthy and rolling," Roberts said. "We know they type of team we can be and the kids know we're not there yet. No matter who we play we have a mission to keep getting better because there are some end goals in mind for these kids. In order to reach and attain some of those goals, we have to be playing as well as we can be at the end of February and March."

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