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Crystal Lake South edges Huntley in OT

Wind chills outside were no comparison to how cold Huntley got Friday night.

After overcoming a sluggish start to claim a lead and ultimately force overtime in Friday's Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball game, the host Red Raiders went 0-for-9 with a variety of misses during the extra four minutes.

Shots slid in, out, around and off the Huntley basket as Crystal Lake South escaped with a 53-47 victory. The loss extended the Red Raider (7-19, 2-7) losing streak to six straight - all single-digit setbacks.

"It was just one of those things," Huntley coach Will Benson said with a shrug. "It's been our bugaboo, very streaky play, so we've lost a lot of close games, especially lately. However, our kids don't quit, even when we were flat in the first few minutes."

South (14-9, 7-2) had a 9-0 start en route to a 13-9 first-quarter lead and the Gators made it a 10-point gap (33-23) with 2:27 left before intermission. A Huntley 14-4 surge spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second to produce a 27-all tie with 5:48 left in the third quarter.

Kyle Nwogu made a few blocks and a baseline reverse to put the hosts ahead 31-30 prior to a Jadrian Flores 3-pointer from right of the key for a four-point lead. The Gators fought back into a 34-34 draw heading into the fourth quarter. Consecutive baskets by Makomborero Tizora got the Raiders ahead one last time at 38-37.

Two charging calls against Huntley led to South's 46-41 advantage with 1:33 left. Jadrian Flores hit a pair of free throws and a top of the key 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds to produce the game's fifth tie at 46-all. He led the Raiders with 11 points followed by Olalere Oladipo's 9.

The Gators won the overtime tip and Joshua Friesen hit a bucket and 2 free throws as part of his 7-point effort. Huntley's stone-cold touch ended with 36.6 seconds when Flores hit the first of two free throws to keep the Red Raider hopes alive at 50-47. South's Zach Geske then hit 3 of 4 at the line to close out the win and record a game-high 19 points.

"The key is practice, making it muscle memory," Geske explained. "This win has great value in the conference and also with regionals coming up, hopefully it'll help us get a better seed."

Geske had a trio of 3-pointers in his total while Tim Siesennop's 9 points all came off long bombs. Weston Buckner added 10 points and drew a trio of charge calls.

"Being a big guy, people think I'll block shots, but I've shown I know how to take charges," Buckner said. "Huntley's always been a tough place to win and I think this is our second road win here and every conference road win is huge."

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