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Jacobs comes back to down McHenry

Tim Randl realized it was time for a senior moment.

Jacobs was struggling and scrambling for a spark as it fell behind by 5 points after three quarters in Saturday afternoon's Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball game at McHenry. Randl's impact had been minimal beyond a basket in the first 13 seconds.

But the 6-foot-2 Randl, one of only two seniors currently playing for the Golden Eagles, was a difference-maker in the fourth quarter. He scored 9 of his team-high 11 points, got half of his 4 rebounds, snagged a loose ball and drew a charging foul to lead the defending Valley champs to a 44-39 victory.

"There was a timeout called and (assistant) coach (Jack) Denny said, 'Step up and be a senior leader,' " Randl said. "That's when it really clicked with me and I decided to assert myself."

McHenry (3-3, 0-1) led 29-24 as it focused its defensive attention on 6-9 junior Cameron Krutwig with 6-4 junior Matthew Mohr (10 points) and plenty of double-team help. Krutwig finished with 9 points on 4-for-6 shooting, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

"We executed our defensive game plan to a T," said McHenry coach Tim Paddock, whose team is missing three injured starters, including third-year starting guard Nick Bellich (knee) and Northern Illinois football recruit Corey Lersch (back). "It was 100 percent what we wanted to do."

Krutwig also sat for a stretch of nearly six minutes that bridged the third and fourth quarters with three fouls. Jacobs coach Jim Roberts and Denny felt comfortable with the group on the floor.

"We've had a couple of games where we had to play without him for a little bit," Roberts said. "The first time we didn't do so well. But we have a bunch of kids who can play."

Even if Randl is relatively old on this team. Sophomore Ryan Phillips started the fourth with a pullup jumper and Randl drew a charge and hit a short driving jumper.

A short turnaround and a 3-pointer by Randl put Jacobs ahead to stay at 33-31 with 4:32 left. Junior Adam Kale followed with a runner and Randl's 2 free throws made it 37-32 at 3:28.

"I knew I could make those shots all game but that's when they fell," Randl said of making 3 of his last 4 from the field to finish 4-for-8.

"I called it a dirty, grimy, grindy kind of game and that's how Timmy Randl plays," Roberts said. "That's his kind of game.

"McHenry did a good job with what they executed and what they wanted to do. We said for three quarters somebody has got to make a play."

Sophomore Gavin Markgraff (12 points) hit a 3 to get McHenry within 37-35 at 3:03. Krutwig hit 2 free throws after an offensive rebound and sophomore Nik Balkcom (7 points) got a 3-point play on a right-lane drive to make it 42-35 at 1:33.

In the fourth quarter, Jacobs shot 6-for-7 from the field to finish at 41 percent (16-for-39) and 7-for-8 on free throws to end up 8-for-12.

"It's good for us to get that fourth-quarter experience on the road with an inexperienced team," Randl said. "It's good for a young team to learn this early in the season so we can step up when it matters late."

  Jacobs' Nikolas Balkcom shoots over a McHenry player at McHenry during boys basketball Saturday. Brian Hill/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
  Jacobs' Adam Kale looks over McHenry's Giovanni Calabrese for an open teammate during Jacobs at McHenry boys basketball Saturday. Brian Hill/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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