Kaneland's third win over Sycamore nets Knights regional crown
Kaneland knew that a third victory over Sycamore in Friday night's Class 3A Kaneland regional final would be the most challenging, and potentially, the most satisfying.
In a classic battle between the two Northern Illinois Big XII East rivals, Kaneland senior Dylan Vaca stepped up with 9 of his game-high 13 points in the fourth quarter to help the second-seeded Knights prevail 44-40 in front of a raucous capacity crowd in Maple Park.
Kaneland (20-8), which had posted a pair of comfortable double digit wins over the No. 4 seed Spartans in conference play, advanced to face top-seeded Rockford Boylan (29-2) in Wednesday night's Woodstock North sectional semifinal.
"We beat Sycamore twice earlier, but it's a whole different game right now - it's do or die," Vaca said. "They beat some good teams this year and we expected this game to be tough."
"It was just electric. There was just so much energy in the gym," added Knights senior center Jake Gomes, who contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds. "Sycamore was prepared and knew what we were going to do, but we made some adjustments at halftime to get the job done."
It was a team effort on both sides of the ball for the senior-laden Knights as point guard Ethan Conroy hit three 3-pointers in a 9-point effort while Ryan David tallied 10 points.
Mark Lilly dropped in two clutch free throws with :19 left to give the Knights a 44-40 lead. Defensively, Mitchel Groen and Mason Conroy provided a spark with key minutes off the bench.
"That's what's best about us. All five starters and then everybody on the bench can contribute and help the game," Ethan Conroy said.
"It took all of them and they did exactly what they needed to do," said Knights coach Joe Conroy. "This means a great deal to celebrate this on their home court with their home fans and families. It's amazing."
Sycamore (15-12) came out firing with a trio of 3-pointers in the opening four minutes to grab a 9-3 lead, but Kaneland answered with an 8-point run.
The Knights moved in front 18-15 in the second quarter behind trifectas from Ethan Conroy and Vaca, but Jack Mizgalski drained a long 3-pointer to even the score at halftime.
The Knights amped up the defensive pressure and went on an impressive 11-2 run to open the third quarter, highlighted by Lilly's coast to coast layup and a pair of baskets from David.
"We talked about it at halftime that we can rest tomorrow for the rest of our lives if we don't take care of business in the second half," Joe Conroy said.
The Spartans wouldn't go quietly as they narrowed the gap to 31-27 at the end of the third and forced the last of three ties at 35-35 with just over 5 minutes left.
Vaca put Kaneland in front to stay with a driving layup and 3-pointer from the wing on a nice feed from Lilly.
Ty Sulaver hit a 3-pointer to pull Sycamore within 40-38 with 1:45 left, but Vaca and Lilly went 4-for-4 from the line to seal the win.
"All that extra work after practice when you're tired and shooting those free throws, it pays off in games like these," Vaca said.
Brett Bemis paced Sycamore with 9 points and 8 rebounds. Tim Zahm added 8 points with Mizgalski and Sulaver finishing with 7 points each.
"I thought our guys did a great job executing the game plan, but we just fell a little bit short," said Spartans coach Drew Stacy. "You have to credit Kaneland, they made a few more plays down the stretch."