advertisement

Dundee-Crown breaks through at Jacobs

Dundee-Crown senior Jack Michalski turns 18 today.

The 6-foot-4 forward was 11 the last time the D-C boys basketball team crossed the Fox River and defeated rival Jacobs in Algonquin like his Chargers did Friday night.

Michalski scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the second half and grabbed 8 of his team's 19 rebounds in a 53-44 Fox Valley Conference road win.

"He's been the heart and soul of our team," Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber said. "He just doesn't stop. He has a motor and he just keeps going. Our guys feed off of him."

Huber compared the inner drive of Michalski - also an all-conference football player and a state qualifying high jumper - to that of 2009 graduate Jeff Beck, who led the Chargers to a fourth-place finish in Class 4A.

"Jeff Beck was like that with his energy and motor," Huber said. "Jack? Man, he's just go, go, go. It's awesome."

Michalski said playing all out is the only way he knows.

"I've just always been like that playing sports since I was younger," he said. "I always just have some kind of energy, always trying to push my teammates farther to get better as a team."

Jacobs (8-9, 2-4) had won 9 straight home games against District 300 rival Dundee-Crown (12-3, 4-2), including a 2013 playoff victory. The triumph at Jacobs was D-C's first since a 67-43 win on Feb. 3, 2012.

"To come here and beat them in their hometown feels good," said D-C 5-7 junior guard Trayvon Hatcher. He scored 5 of his 9 points in the fourth quarter to round out a balanced effort that included 9 points and 4 rebounds from 6-6 forward Brad Stec and 8 points from 6-5 junior Josh Raby.

"We just knew going in that we had a height advantage," Michalski said after his team won the rebounding battle 19-12.

Jacobs had its moments, but the Golden Eagles were unable to sustain their success. They used a 9-0 run to take a 20-13 second-quarter lead, fueled by 2 baskets from junior guard Andrew Balkcom, a baseline jump shot from junior Jaden Henderson and a Jalen Ramsey 3-pointer.

However, Dundee-Crown answered with an 8-0 run to take a 21-20 halftime lead, capped by Hatcher's leaner from the lane just before the buzzer.

"There are a million things, but what it comes down to is how you practice and how you perform on a daily basis is how you're going to perform when you step out here," Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts said. "That's really the bottom line. We're still far too inconsistent on a daily basis in practice and you see the way we perform in games.

"We get up 20-13, they call timeout and it's 21-20 just like that. And that's how we practice. We don't compete consistently day in and day out, therefore, that's how we play consistently."

D-C led 35-31 after three quarters and extended the lead to 48-37 on Stec's putback with 3:15 to play.

Jacobs pared the deficit to 50-44 on Matt McCoy's third 3-pointer of the game, but the Chargers sank 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute to stave off a comeback.

Henderson and McCoy had 9 points apiece and senior forward Keshaun Lyons scored all 8 of his points in the third quarter for Jacobs.

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.