Kaneland rolls Geneseo

Instead of a letdown, Kaneland gave Geneseo a beat down in a Northern Illinois Big 12 crossover Saturday night in Maple Park.

The Knights took the lead midway through the second quarter and never looked back in a 54-45 victory to complete a 2-0 weekend.

Saturday’s win might not have had quite the excitement as Friday’s rally from 19 points down to hand Rochelle its first conference loss, but it was another step forward for the Knights (12-8).

“Definitely momentum and confidence played a big role,” Kaneland freshman Daniel Helm said. “We just had some solid possessions on offense tonight, working well, getting good looks and they went in.”

Helm and senior Zach Ringhouse both scored 16 points to lead the Knights.

“Coming off an emotional victory against the team who is No. 1 in conference is huge,” Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. “Geneseo is a solid team. We were able to execute down the stretch and get the right people the ball and handle their pressure.”

While Kaneland was celebrating Friday night, Geneseo (8-10) was losing with such a lackluster performance against Sterling that Maple Leafs coach Dave Martin benched four starters Saturday.

The Knights capitalized against Sterling’s reserves at the start of the game, taking an 11-2 lead before Martin started subbing his normal starters into the game. Chaon Denlinger scored 6 of the Knights’ first 11 points.

The benched Maple Leafs starters brought Sterling back to a 16-15 lead early in the second quarter on Blake Croegaert’s 3-point play. The Maple Leafs held their final lead of the night at 20-19 before Ringhouse’s 3-pointer ignited a 14-0 Kaneland run.

“There was about a 3-minute stretch in the second quarter when we quit guarding them,” Martin said.

Ringhouse, after draining three clutch 3-pointers in Friday’s comeback, and Helm scored 12 of the 14 points in Kaneland’s run.

“He’s had a great weekend,” Johnson said of Ringhouse. “He’s really stepped up. He’s one of those seniors who has worked hard to get where he’s at.”

Geneseo played Kaneland to a 12-12 tie in the third quarter to trail 45-34 heading to the fourth. Helm picked up two quick fouls to go to the bench with four fouls, and the Maple Leafs trimmed the Knights’ lead to 47-42 with three minutes left.

Kaneland executed perfectly on its next possession, taking the air out of the ball but not turning it over. Johnson called two timeouts when his players were trapped, and with 1:13 left Geneseo had to foul.

Ringhouse and Trever Heinle made the front end of three straight 1-and-1s. Ringhouse was a perfect 6 of 6 from the line in the final 90 seconds to finish 8 of 8 for the game. As a team the Knights hit 17 of 21 at the line.

“Got to thank Zach for that (pulling away),” Helm said. “Without him we may have been in a worse predicament.”

Connor Johnson led Geneseo with 10 points. Heinle and Denlinger added 8 points each for the Knights while Helm’s 7 rebounds helped the Knights to a 28-25 advantage.

“We came off a night last night where our effort was just obscene. It kind of carried over here to start the game,” said Martin, making his first trip to play Kaneland in the new Northern Illinois Big 12. Martin called the drive to Kaneland “a long one, and (it’s going to) be a long trip home.”