St. Francis’ Sebastian Miller has been making plays for the Spartans for a long time, but the 6-foot-3 senior guard never made one bigger than this.

Burlington Central was forced to negotiate a couple potholes on its road to the Class 3A Crystal Lake South sectional championship game.

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 Kaneland boys basketball team survived a challenge from Sycamore in the toughest of the teams’ three contests of the season, winning in overtime 49-45 to advance to the Class 3A Sycamore regional final.Sophomore guard Troyer Carlson scored six points in the overtime period, including the go-ahead 3-pointer that forced the final lead change of the contest. Carlson finished with 12 points, matching sophomore forward Parker Violett in the team-high for scoring.

Burlington Central saved its best for last.Nursing a slim 42-41 advantage after 3 quarters, the Rockets outscored Huntley 17-9 in the final quarter to register a 59-50 win in Fox Valley Conference action in Burlington Friday night.

Although Burlington Central clinched a share of the Fox Valley Conference title with its 58-48 win over Crystal Lake South on Friday, it was game that the team is glad is in the rearview mirror.

A minute into Tuesday’s third quarter, Burlington Central led Prairie Ridge 27-22. Then the Rockets hit another gear and rattled off the next 13 points to go up 40-22.

Burlington Central moved to 20-3 overall and a perfect 11-0 in the Fox Valley Conference with a hard-fought 47-38 victory over Dundee-Crown in league play in Carpentersville Tuesday night.

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

Burlington Central returned to the win column with a vengeance Tuesday night on Rocket Hill, beating Fox Valley Conference rival Crystal Lake South, 67-45.

Burlington Central’s fourth quarter rally fell short Monday afternoon in the MLK Tournament championship game on Rocket Hill.Trailing Lyons Township 39-30 with 6:18 left to play, the Rockets went on a 12-6 run to narrow the gap to 45-42 with 1:10 left on the clock. Central’s hopes of a game-tying 3-pointer were dashed when Billy Bach converted two free throws to widened Lyons’ lead back to five.Once again with 10 ticks left on the scoreboard, the Rockets pulled within 47-44 on an Andrew Scharnowski putback. But once again, Bach came through at the charity stripe, sinking two more shots to ice the 49-44 win for Lyons.

Wheaton North crashed in on Zac Schmidt trying to trap him on his first pass.Schmidt, Burlington Central’s senior, calmly dribbled out of the jam and found Gavin Sarvis flying from left to right along the baseline.Sarvis, from there, did what he perhaps does best. He finished at the rim for a thunderous fourth quarter alley-oop slam to put a capper on the Rockets’ 58-38 victory over Wheaton North on Saturday at Burlington Central’s MLK Tournament.

Veteran seniors Gavin Sarvis, Zac Schmidt, Nick Carpenter and Carson Seyller are names that come to mind when thinking of the 2021-2022 Burlington Central Rockets boys basketball team.You can add 6-foot-7 junior center Andrew Scharnowski to that list.

The Royals were ranked ninth in the most recent Associated Press Class 4A poll and eighth by one of the Chicago daily newspapers. Deryn Carter’s group was 16-1 overall and 7-0 in Upstate Eight play after wins against Elgin and East Aurora.Of note in those two conference games, Larkin broke the all-time record for largest margin of victory in the Larkin-Elgin crosstown series. Carter also believes the Royals are off to the best start in school history, as well as the owners of the most consecutive wins in a single season in school history.

Gavin Sarvis dipped his right shoulder and bulldozed his way going right along the baseline to finish for a layup despite the steep Burlington Central lead in the middle of the fourth quarter Wednesday.Sarvis, a Rockets senior, seemingly knows how to play only one way with his ultra-competitive drive: Have a “go mentality.”“I have always been very competitive, and I have always had a go mentality,” Sarvis said following the Rockets’ 62-36 Fox Valley Conference victory over Jacobs on Wednesday.

Nano-seconds after Gavin Sarvis missed what could have been the game-winning shot, he turned to the bench to prepare for double overtime.Nick Carpenter had much different plans.

Zac Schmidt and Nick Carpenter were eighth-graders watching from the Plano bleachers the last time Burlington Central won its tournament championship.Fast forward four years.Now seniors, they’re pillars of a seasoned group that’s perhaps the Rockets’ best team during its recent run of success. And they want their own hardware.

Ottawa boys basketball coach Mark Cooper felt if his club could limit its mistakes, it would be in good shape against Burlington Central in their quarterfinal contest Tuesday at the 58th Annual Plano Christmas Classic.The No. 8-seeded Pirates did a pretty good job in that department in the opening half, but the No. 3-seeded Rockets forced eight miscues — converting almost every one into points — in the pivotal third quarter to turn a 10-point halftime lead into a 24-point bulge heading to the fourth quarter and an eventual 64-33 quarterfinal victory at Reaper Gymnasium.

Scouting Fox area boys basketball holiday tournaments

Welcome back Gavin Sarvis.Playing in his second game since being sidelined with a fractured wrist for a little over 2 weeks, Sarvis scored 36 points including 25 in the second half and 16 in the fourth quarter Friday night at Huntley.The senior’s superb effort propelled Burlington Central to a comeback 60-52 win over Huntley in Fox Valley Conference action.

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.

Despite going unbeaten during the COVID-shortened spring season, Rolling Meadows’ boys basketball team is looking to build its resume. The Mustangs made a a significant addition to their work history Saturday with an impressive 68-44 win over Burlington Central at the South Elgin shootout.

Short-handed Burlington Central, with great defensive intensity and balanced scoring, throttled visiting Dundee-Crown 53-33 in Fox Valley Conference action in Burlington Friday night.

Dundee Crown rallied from a 14-point deficit in the last three minutes of the Strombom Holiday Tournament championship game Saturday night in Sycamore to tie the contest with seconds left on the clock. The Chargers then outscored Burlington Central 10-8 in overtime to win the game 56-54 and take home the first-place trophy.

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

Patrick Mayfield, a Burlington Central graduate, has transferred from Division III Dubuque to Division I Akron.