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Jacobs handles Waubonsie Valley

Cameron Krutwig is easily recognizable as the center of attention for Jacobs' boys basketball team.

But if the first two games of the season are any indication it will not be long before some of the newer Golden Eagles become familiar names as well. They improved to 2-0 in Palatine's Ed Molitor Thanksgiving Classic with a 47-34 victory over Waubonsie Valley on Wednesday evening.

"No one really knows much about our guys," Krutwig said after the 6-foot-9 junior got his second double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds. "We can all play and we can all go.

"Ryan Phillips hit three 3s and Adam Kale is a tough little guy. We have a bunch of guys who can play that people really don't know much about."

Phillips, a 6-3 sophomore, had 13 points and 8 rebounds and 6-6 freshman Joacheim Price added 6 second-half points. And the Golden Eagles are missing three starters - including the injured Kyle Ross (finger) and Mason Materna (wrist).

Loen Nelson (6 rebounds) and Timothy Randl were the only seniors who saw action against Waubonsie (0-2).

"We're really, really young," said Jacobs coach Jim Roberts, "and to do what we did the last couple of nights is really, really good.

"Even being down three starters, I thought we'd be OK, but to come out and actually do it is another thing."

Waubonsie, which is also short-handed from the football team's run to the Class 8A semifinals, packed a 2-3 zone around Krutwig but Phillips scored 8 points and hit a pair of 3s in the first quarter. While the Golden Eagles shot just 31.8 percent from the field (14-for-44) and 3-for-21 on 3s, Roberts had no fault with their approach against a defense they are likely to see quite a bit this season.

"We handled (their zone) well and got good looks," Roberts said.

"With coach we practice zone a lot and he has a lot of sets for zones," Krutwig said. "We executed pretty well tonight and got good looks."

Jacobs methodically extended a 19-12 lead 1:36 before halftime to 33-15 with 7:42 to play on Jack Nickoley's drive off a rebound. The Golden Eagles finished with a 41-21 rebound advantage.

Waubonsie missed its first 14 shots of the second half until junior Justin Mullinax hit a 3 with 6:17 to play. Mullinax hit two more 3s and scored 8 of his team-high 11 points in the final 55 seconds.

"That's something we emphasize in practice every day," Krutwig said after Waubonsie shot 28.6 percent from the field (12-for-42). "Slam them in the 30s and 40s."

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