Jacobs wears down McHenry

Jacobs' idea is applying pressure, pressure, and then more pressure.

Eventually, the Golden Eagles hope their constant man-to-man, full-court pressure will wear their opponents down and force mistakes.

"The word we use is cumulative," Jacobs coach Jimmy Roberts said. "It's a cumulative effect. The pressure is pretty relentless. We just keep it on and keep it on and you see eventually turnovers just happen."

The first half against McHenry proved Roberts' point. The Warriors had an early run on points, but after tying the score midway through the first quarter, the turnovers came. Jacobs scored 13 consecutive points and was not challenged again in a 74-61 Fox Valley Conference boys basketball victory Saturday on McHenry's West Campus.

"We came in locked in and ready to go," Eagles guard Jaden Henderson said. "We had a whole bunch of energy and intensity. We just came in and did our thing, just attacking."

Jacobs (5-1 overall, 2-0 FVC) ran out to a 45-22 halftime lead with the help of 12 McHenry turnovers. The Eagles hit 19 of 27 shots in the first half and Henderson, who was 7 of 8, had 18 points at halftime.

Junior guard Zach Leahy hit five 3-pointers and scored 20 points, both career-highs.

"My teammates were finding me with the ball and it was just going through the basket, and it was nice," Leahy said. "The turnovers led to fast-break points, which led to easier offense. That's why I think we were able to score a lot of points."

Leahy hit four of his 3s in the second half. Forward Max Stec added 12 points and hit 6 of 6 at the free-throw line.

Roberts sees some special qualities in his seventh team at Jacobs.

"This group has really come along since the start of the season in a short amount of time," he said. "They're the best group we've had in terms of guarding the ball in full court."

McHenry (0-6, 0-2) handled the pressure better after halftime and committed only three second-half turnovers. The Warriors whittled Jacobs' lead from 27 early in the second half to the final 13-point margin.

McHenry coach Chris Madson thought the turnover number was higher at halftime.

"I thought it would be in the 20 range. That's what it felt like, at least," Madson said. "(Jacobs) does a really good job. Their press sped us up. At halftime we didn't draw one thing up. I said it's all on them. It was all mindset. We kind of let them dictate everything. (Our players) bought into being in control (in the second half)."

Kyle Kaempf scored 12 points on four 3s, three of which came in the first quarter. Adam Benton added 12 points and seven rebounds and Brett Loeding also scored 12.