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Schaumburg routs Kennedy

After the first quarter at Schaumburg High School Saturday night, the Saxons' boys basketball team was leading Kennedy from Chicago 25-12. All looked well.

The Crusaders pulled to within 8 points at 35-27 with 3:15 left in the second quarter. Things weren't looking that cheery. The Crusaders were working the ball inside and forcing Saxon turnovers. But not for long.

Senior guard Mike Hodges had seen enough. His back-to-back steals and baskets were the turning point in a 15-0 run that saw Schaumburg lead 50-27 at halftime.

The Saxons would continue their onslaught of an 87-42 win over Kennedy in the nonconference game.

"I felt I had to do something to get us going," said Hodges. "Those steals got us going. We let them back in the game. Our defense picked us up and we won the game."

he defense wasn't the only factor. The Saxons, now 5-2 with a modest four-game win streak after also beating Palatine on Friday night, set a school record with 13 3-pointers in Saturday's win.

Kennedy coach Marcus Green, a 1986 Schaumburg graduate who was an all-stater in track and an all-conference and all-area pick in basketball as well as Daily Herald all-area football player, was stunned by his team's second quarter collapse.

"It seemed like their team defense took over in the second quarter," said Green. "They go on a 15-0 run, and I don't know if it was a combination of their pressure or our carelessness. It just happened so fast. One minute you're in the game and the next minute you're not."

Schaumburg coach Wade Heisler saw what happened in the early stages of the second quarter.

"We talk about the three Cs," said Heisler. "Communication, competitiveness, and consistency, and we weren't doing that. When they got it close, we just got it back together."

Mike Hodges scored 10 of his 17 points in the second quarter for the Saxons. Chris Hodges tallied 11 of his 13 points in the first half. Heze Trotter scored 10 of his 16 points in the first half also. Christian Orozco, who scored 17 points, hit on 5 of 7 3-pointers. Ten different Saxons scored in the contest.

"Mike and Heze have really played strong for us in the streak," said Heisler. "Mike has really played well all season. He keeps getting better and better. He does so much more on the floor than just scoring. His ceiling is very high.

"We have good players to compliment each other on the floor. Tonight was a different type of game. We try to not let a particular game define us as a team."

Mike Hodges summed up why the Saxons are putting it together.

"We've been able to play more consistent as a team," he said. "We have put in hard work to make our team better. We know we still have some things to work on, but I think we can be a factor as the season moves on."

The Crusaders, who fell to 3-2, saw Justin Melendez score 10 points and Christopher Diaz add 9 points.

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