Ledinsky saves the day for Jacobs
With the game still undecided, Jacobs senior forward Nick Ledinsky made sure the Golden Eagles would end the regular season with a victory with some late game heroics at both ends of the court.
Ledinsky, who nailed a 3-pointer to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good, 52-49 with 2:36 remaining, blocked am 18-footer from Woodstock’s Jordan Turner at the buzzer.
The end result was a Jacobs 54-52 win over the Blue Streaks in a battle of third place teams in Fox Valley Conference crossover boys basketball action in Algonquin Friday night.
“We really moved the ball around well and it was a good possession,” said Ledinsky. “I got the ball in good position to shoot. I had a good feeling when I let the ball go. On the last play, I knew (Turner) would step back and I got a piece of the ball. “
Jacobs celebrated coach Jim Hinkle’s last regular-season home game with a victory. Jacobs (14-14), the third seed, plays sixth-seeded Prairie Ridge in a first round game of the Class 4A Jacobs regional Monday at 7:30 p.m.
“Nick came up huge at both ends of the court with the game on the line,” said Hinkle. “We had a great possession and Nick got a great look. We got a great defensive stop from Nick at the end. Turner is a very good player and Nick did a great job of getting in front of him and made a great block..”
After Ledinsky’s 3-pointer gave the Golden Eagles a 3-point advantage, Jacobs grabbed a 5-point lead, 54-49, on a layup by senior Patrick Nerja with 1:23 left in the game.
Woodstock (16-13) made it a one-possession game when Andy Buhrow buried a long 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to make the score 54-52.
The Golden Eagles could have sealed the win but Lake Ojo missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw opportunity with 13 seconds left.
Blue Streaks’ coach Alex Baker called a timeout to set up a play. Turner took the inbounds pass, dribbled to the free throw line and faded back but Ledinsky was able to block the shot to preserve Jacobs’ narrow win.
Nerja, who didn’t score in the first 3 quarters, delivered 3 key baskets in the last 5 minutes for 6 points.
Ledinsky was the lone Golden Eagle in double digits with 13 points. Turner paced the Blue Streaks with 23 points while junior center Damian Stoneking scored 12 points with 10 rebounds.