Defense carries Jacobs past Crystal Lake South
The Jacobs boys basketball team dropped its calling card on host Crystal Lake South in the third quarter of Saturday's 52-37 win.
The three-time defending Fox Valley Conference champs have won three regional titles in four seasons under coach Jimmy Roberts, largely due to a relentless defensive style that was on full display after halftime.
The Golden Eagles committed 8 turnovers in the third quarter but it didn't matter. They shut out the Gators 14-0 in the period by forcing 4 turnovers and holding CL South without a field goal in 13 attempts.
What turned out to be an 18-0 game-deciding run in a matchup between league leaders bridged the fourth quarter. Kyle Leva's putback ended a CL South scoreless stretch that lasted 9:14.
"We talked before (the game)," Jacobs senior guard Nik Balkcom said. "If we hold them to 35, 40, we're going to win."
In one third-quarter sequence Crystal Lake South (7-8, 3-1) missed five contested shots on the same possession.
Late in the fourth quarter the Gators needed a basket in the worst way but couldn't get a shot off against the determined starters from Jacobs (12-2, 4-0), who eventually exited with 20.5 seconds left with a 13-point lead.
"They had the ball with like 1:12 left, they need to score and they couldn't even get a shot up," Roberts said. "I mean, I say it every time: that's us and that's our guys. I know it's tough to play against us."
"They're long," CL South senior Matt Reall said. "Obviously, they've got a lot of taller kids. We just had to be patient and not go so fast. Their defense was phenomenal"
Crystal Lake South led 24-22 at the half, thanks to a late putback by senior forward Tyler Haskin. It was the last field goal for the home team until Leva's fourth quarter tally.
"If you can't score, you lose your defense a little bit and Jacobs made us pay for some poor rotations," CL South coach Matt LePage said. "We fight like crazy and we compete, but you've got to score. You have to score to get energy on defense and that's what Jacobs does so well. They score, they set their press and they make it work."
Senior guard Ryan Phillips grabbed 10 rebounds and scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, senior guard Kameron Mack finished with 15 points and senior forward Daniel Murray 7 points for Jacobs, which next hosts Cary-Grove on Wednesday.
Leva had 11 points and 7 rebounds and senior Jack Murphy sank 3 fourth-quarter 3-pointers to finish with 9 points for CL South. The Gators plays at rival Crystal Lake Central on Wednesday.