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Jacobs finishes off 16-0 Fox Valley Conference season

The numbers are staggering.

With a 51-42 win over District 300 rival and host Dundee-Crown Friday night in Carpentersville, Jacobs claimed the Fox Valley Conference boys basketball championship with a perfect 16-0 record.

The Golden Eagles, 24-3 overall, captured their fourth straight conference championship and their 26th straight league win. An incredible 51-1 mark in their last 52 games, Jacobs' last FVC loss was 50-41 to Prairie Ridge on Jan. 14, 2017.

"There wasn't a lot of celebrating after the game. I wish the kids would realize what they have accomplished," said Jacobs coach Jim Roberts. "They have had a heckuva run but our kids have done a great job of taking care of the task at hand. The faces have changed but it is a credit to the kids in the program and coaches in the program. Some nights we win with 53 points. Some nights we win with 38 points."

Playing without senior forward Ryan Phillips for a sixth straight game, Jacobs seized control of the game in the first quarter. Connecting on 3-of-4 shots from 3-point range and 8-of-10 from the field the Golden Eagles, on a trey by Matt McCoy at the buzzer, led the Chargers 19-10 after 8 minutes.

Jack Orndahl buried a pair of 3s to pull the Chargers within 19-16 to start the second quarter. Dundee-Crown never got any closer.

Jacobs ended the first half on a 14-5 run spearheaded by 3s from Nik Balkcom and McCoy and led 33-21 at intermission.

The Golden Eagles' biggest lead was 46-31 after a layup by Kam Mack with 4:52 left in the contest.

Jacobs, 8-of-12 from 3-point range, was paced by Balkcom with 13 points.

"It is really exciting to win the conference undefeated at 16-0," said Balkcom. "We have dealt with a lot of adversity especially the loss of Ryan. The guys know their roles and we play hard every night and we play defense every night. We are excited for the regionals coming up."

Daniel Murray, with 9 rebounds, tallied 10 points with a 3-pointer for the winners.

Orndahl, with a 3-for-4 effort from 3-point land, led the Chargers with 19 points, 12 in the first half.

"Jack is a 4-year starter and we expect him to step up in big games like tonight," said Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber. "He really shot the ball well and kept us in the game."

Jordan Hairston joined Orndahl in double digits with 12 points.

"Jacobs did a great job of getting the lead early," said Huber. "It is hard to chase points against a team the caliber of Jacobs. We could never get in position to take the lead. Hopefully we can get another shot against them next week in the regional finals."

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