After Patrick Nerja nailed an 18-footer from the left side, Jacobs had what looked to be a comfortable 27-17 lead with 4:18 remaining in the first half.The rest of the night was a disaster for the Golden Eagles.

Scoring the final 6 points of the first half and ripping off 16 straight points, Prairie Ridge changed the momentum of the game and rallied for a 56-51 win over the Golden Eagles in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball action in Crystal Lake Tuesday night.

The Golden Eagles (9-11, 3-2) played without starter Will Schwerdtmann (1-game suspension for flagrant foul) and key reserve Jon Berndt (concussion).“We got off to a great start but we just couldn’t sustain it,” said Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle. “The effort was excellent, but the execution wasn’t. PR did a great job. They were very aggressive and they adjusted to our switches.”

The Wolves (6-12, 3-2) cut the Golden Eagles’ 10-point lead to 4 at halftime. A 3-pointer by Michael Bradshaw and a putback by Kody Peterson keyed Prairie Ridge’s 6-0 run as Jacobs led 27-23 at halftime.

The Wolves continued the momentum they gained at the end of the first half into the second half. Led by 3-pointers from Bradshaw and Steven Ticknor and 3 free throws from Ryan Gilbert the Wolves scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to conclude a 16-0 run over an 8 minute, 20 second span. PR turned a 10-point deficit into a 6-point 33-27 lead with 4:44 left in the quarter.Jacobs broke the scoring drought on a layup by Nick Ledinsky with 3:58 left in the third quarter to make the score 33-29. That would be as close as the Golden Eagles would get.

The Wolves’ biggest lead was 9, 53-44, on Bradshaw’s second 3-pointer of the game with 4:52 remaining.

Nerja paced Jacobs with 16 points including two 3-pointers, while Lake Ojo scored 10 with 12 rebounds.

Bradshaw paced the Wolves with 20 points including a pair of 3-pointers, while Gilbert scored 11 with 2 treys.

“Jacobs really came out ready to play and they really were focused,” said Prairie Ridge coach Corky Card. “Towards the end of the first half we started running the floor better and our shot selection was better. We played good defense in the second half and had good possessions.”