Burlington Central forced 10 turnovers and allowed Kaneland to take just two shots in the second quarter Friday, turning a close game after 8 minutes into a 66-39 win for a Class 3A Sycamore regional championship.

The DeKalb boys basketball team helped overcome a shaky third quarter offensively with a standout one on the defensive side, holding Hampshire to seven points en route to a 52-37 win in a Class 4A Hampshire semifinal on Wednesday.“When you do that, we’re good enough normally to get 10-15 points a quarter, so if we can do that we can stretch the lead,” DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said. “I thought our guys stayed engaged defensively.”

Hampshire hit their 3-pointers, outrebounded Cary-Grove by a large margin and were almost perfect at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to beat the Trojans, 44-36, in their Fox Valley Conference boys basketball game Tuesday at Elroy Fitzgerald Gymnasium.

The Burlington Central boys basketball team continued its dominance of the Fox Valley Conference Friday night with a 52-32 win over Hampshire Friday.

Hampshire had battled to different leads for much of Tuesday night before Jacobs came back to tie or take a lead each time. That was the flow of the game, and with the game tied at 35 with over four minutes left in the game, the Whip-Purs needed one last run.

Hampshire junior guard Sam Ptak’s wrong move turned out to be the right move with seconds remaining in the second overtime at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic Thursday night. Ptak’s 3-pointer gave Hampshire a 73-70 win over Buffalo Grove in the consolation championship.

Scouting Fox area boys basketball holiday tournaments

Things have been trending upward and then some for the Huntley boys basketball team this season. Coach Will Benson’s squad was 8-1 overall to start the week and 4-0 in Fox Valley Conference play. That lone loss was a 1-point setback to Batavia on a last-second drained 3-pointer.

There was no rah-rah-speeches at halftime. Huntley coach Will Benson just wanted his team basically to execute and play better. The Red Raiders heeded Benson’s words of wisdom.

Palatine shook off a poor first half to beat visiting Hampshire 49-32 Saturday afternoon in a nonconference boys basketball game.

After not winning a game during the COVID shortened spring season, Hampshire started the 2021-2022 season with an 0-3 mark.The losing is finally over for the Whip-Purs’ boys basketball team and coach Mike Featherly. Connecting on 8-of-11 from 3-point range for 73% in the first half and leading Hononegah 35-21 after 16 minutes, the Whip-Purs held off a valiant Indian fourth quarter rally. Paced by 2 late free throws by Joey Costable, the Whips were able to hold on for a 54-51 win over the Indians in the final round of the Tom Mueller Thanksgiving Tournament hosted by Crystal Lake Central Saturday afternoon.

Here’s a look at the boys basketball season in the Fox Valley