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Huntley outlasts Elgin in double overtime

Huntley's Jack Bessey admitted he was nervous when he lined up to take a pivotal charge on Elgin guard Desmond Douglas in the lane with 4 fouls shortly before the Red Raiders walked out of Chesbrough Field House with a 73-69 double overtime win.

But the sophomore's biggest risk became the Red Raiders' biggest reward in nonconference action Tuesday, and the charge call he took with 1:20 left in the second overtime and Huntley leading 67-65 finally created the separation Huntley (9-15) needed to get out of Elgin victorious, even if it let the Maroons extend the game in regulation on a similar play in which Douglas drew a foul and sank 2 free throws with 1.2 seconds left.

"I was nervous because I had four fouls," Bessey said, who led all scorers with 20 points to go with 8 rebounds. "I was thinking he was only driving and wasn't stopping. I had to take the charge."

Douglas thought he had the makings of a 3-point play as the basket went in but it was signaled otherwise and he had to leave the game. On the subsequent possession, Huntley's Jason Zobott added a 4-point cushion with a layup with 1:10 left to finally give Raiders coach Will Benson some relief at the end of a thriller in which Huntley let a 4-point lead with 24.4 second left in regulation slip away.

"I had a sick feeling in my stomach because I didn't think I put us in the best position to win (at end of regulation) and the kids picked me up and were able to steal it in double overtime," Benson said. "That would have been Jack's fifth but I didn't feel good till 11 (Douglas) was off the floor. We just had no answer for him tonight. When he fouled out I felt a little better."

Douglas led Elgin (6-20) with 19 points, 13 coming from the free throw line as he attacked the hoop relentlessly in the fourth quarter and both overtimes for Elgin. When Jakob Zajac stole the inbound pass with 11.3 seconds left in the fourth, Douglas sank 2 free throws to force overtime and then scored 5 points in the first overtime that gave Elgin a shot until the very end.

"It was definitely frustrating," Douglas said of his fifth foul. "I got hyped up thinking I got the and-one, teammates helping me up and the call got reversed. Kind of went downhill there."

Lavion Baldwin also added 19 points for Elgin while Alonzo Golliday scored 10 off the bench for the Maroons. Huntley had three scorers in double figures, including Connor Boesch with 18 and DJ Cruz with 12, as Huntley shot 26 of 66 from the field and scored 32 points in the paint.

Boesch had a clean look in overtime but missed from the left elbow extended that clanked iron, but the senior was a big reason Huntley was in the position it was. He scored 6 points in the fourth quarter that helped Huntley take the lead by as many as 4 after the teams ended the third tied at 38. Boesch also collected 13 rebounds, but Bessey took over for him in the post in double overtime, scoring on two pump fakes on the right block that gave the Raiders a 67-63 lead. Bessey also sank a free throw in overtime with 18.2 left when Huntley found itself down 62-61.

"He just gives you everything he has, plays multiple positions, guards multiple positions," Benson said of Bessey, who took two charges. "His effort was outstanding."

Elgin coach Mike Sitter didn't shy away from Douglas' night, as the junior sank 13 of 15 free throws, 7 in the fourth and 2 when Benson tried to ice him in the fourth.

"You don't get a lot of situations like that you can really simulate that in practice," Sitter said. "So he showed some pretty good composure getting a steal late and getting to the free throw line and hitting some free throws, that was good."

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