advertisement

Jacobs hangs on to beat Addison Trail

Senior guard Nik Balkcom wouldn't lie that the Jacobs boys basketball team came out a little slow Tuesday night to conclude pool play at the Hinkle Holiday Classic.

Golden Eagles coach Jimmy Roberts thought Addison Trail was, "more ready to go," than his guys.

But in the end, despite the tough game the Blazers gave the defending champs, the Golden Eagles played more like themselves in the final 24 minutes, using a big Ryan Phillips 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to get away and made it a clean sweep in Pool I with a 50-44 win over Addison Trail.

Jacobs (9-2), winners of six-straight, will square off against Fox Valley Conference foe Crystal Lake South at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in one semifinal in Algonquin, putting its chances of a Hink-peat on the line.

"I don't know if that Marian Central result (a 50-37 Addison Trail loss) affected our kids' approach coming in," said Roberts, whose team shot just 39.5 percent. "But if it did I hope they learned something. They've got to be ready to strap it on and compete no matter who you're playing every single night."

After a three-day layoff for both teams, Addison Trail (6-6) looked to be spoilers and then some as the Blazers took an 8-4 lead into the second quarter. Connor Palesch's right wing 3 had Addison Trail up 18-9 with 4:06 left in the half and Jacobs calling timeouts searching for answers.

"(Coach) talked about intensity, and how they came out ready and we didn't," said Balkcom, who had 3 steals. "But I think in the second quarter we were a little bit more ready to play."

Balkcom sure was. After Palesch's 3, he answered with a layup which fueled a quarter-ending 11-2 run, with 9 of his team-high 16 points coming in that stretch. Balkcom's 3 off Kameron Mack's steal with 17 seconds left in the half helped Jacobs tie at 20 going to halftime.

"I think we were up 20-14 with about two minutes to go," said Blazers coach Brendan Lyons, whose team shot 42.5 percent overall but had 5 turnovers in the second quarter. "And we had a couple of bad decisions and unforced turnovers, a couple good plays on their end."

Palesch, who paced Addison Trail in the first half, finished with 15 points on three 3s while Adem Mehmeti led the Blazers with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Mehmeti converted three 3-point plays, two in the second half, when Jacobs was just too much for the Blazers.

Mack, who finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds, helped Jacobs to a 35-29 advantage after 3 with two 3s of his own and after Phillips hit a big 3 with 3:31 left, Phillips put back his own miss to put Jacobs up by 3 late and then sealed things at the stripe.

"It was just one of those games where each play matters," said Phillips, as Jacobs outscored the Blazers 30-24 in the second half. "Each play was big down the stretch."

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.