Burlington Central battles past Crystal Lake South
Josh Hudgens and the Burlington Central Rockets were simply not going to be denied a Fox Valley Conference win at Crystal Lake South Friday night.
With 17 points and 16 rebounds, Hudgens lifted the Rockets to a 54-48 win over the Gators.
"I was able to get the position on the boards and get the rebound," said Hudgens. "Coach (Brett) Porto is always telling me if I miss a shot to go after the offensive rebound. It was a challenge for me and the team. Crystal Lake (South) is a very good team. This is a big win for us."
Hudgens, who snared 9 offensive rebounds, was 6-of-10 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line including 4-of-4 down the stretch to seal the win.
"Josh was outstanding tonight and he really responded at the end," said Porto. "He was up to the challenge against a very good team on the road. His rebounding has been solid all year."
The Rockets (6-3, 2-3) also got 13 points from sophomore Zac Schmidt including a key 3-pointer late in the game.
Sophomores Gavin Sarvis (8 points) and Carson Seyller (7) combined for 15 points and Seyller collected a 3.
"The three sophomores gave us great contributions," said Porto. "They played tough and with a lot of confidence."
Porto was also pleased with his team's perimeter defense. The Gators (4-6, 1-4) managed only six 3-pointers in 22 attempts for 27 percent.
"We know Crystal Lake South is an outstanding 3-point shooting team," said Porto. "We did a great job of contesting the 3-pointer all night. We made it tough on them."
With the score tied at 10 late in the first quarter, the Rockets went on 12-0 run which covered the first and second quarters.
The Rockets scored the final 4 points of the first quarter to lead 14-10 after 8 minutes.
Central, propelled by 4 points each from Schmidt and Sarvis, scored the first 8 points of the second quarter and held a 22-10 lead.
The Gators' first points of the second quarter came on a layup from Brock Jewson off a perfect bounce pass from Tyler Miller to cut the deficit to 22-12 with 4:50 remaining in the first half.
The Gators kept whittling away at the lead and got within 48-46 on a trey by Jewson with 1:30 left but couldn't get any closer.
Miller and Damir Glamoc led South with 11 apiece while Jewson scored 10.
"We came out sluggish at home and that certainly wasn't expected," said Gators coach Matt LePage. "They were tough on the boards and rebounding is effort. We shot poorly and they played harder than us. They out-competed us. They wanted it more. We got it down to 2 but could never get over the hump."