Dundee-Crown can't keep up with McHenry

Dundee-Crown fought back from a near-scoreless first quarter to get within a couple possessions of tying or going ahead of McHenry late in the first half Friday night.

But the visiting Chargers couldn't sustain the success they had in a five-minute stretch and McHenry pulled away to a 51-27 Fox Valley Conference Valley Division boys basketball victory.

D-C (0-6, 0-2) gave up the first 10 points and didn't score until sophomore Jack Orndahl (game-high 13 points) hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the first quarter. Orndahl would hit another 3 and his pullup jumper 3:30 before halftime cut the McHenry (4-4, 1-1) lead to 18-13.

Senior Nick Shydlowski then forced a turnover but the Chargers couldn't capitalize on that and a couple of defensive stops before McHenry responded with a 20-4 tear.

"I thought that was the biggest part of the game," D-C coach Lance Huber said of the opportunity to get even closer to the Warriors. "We had three possessions in a row with two bad shots and a turnover.

"Then McHenry came out and stepped on the gas in the second half and we couldn't keep up with them."

McHenry shot 7-for-14 behind the arc and 16-for-25 on free throws and had a 31-17 rebound advantage. Brian O'Toole scored a team-high 12 points and Gio Calabrese (three 3s), Gavin Markgraff and DeShawn Wilson added 9 apiece.

At times the Chargers had three sophomores on the floor with Orndahl, 6-foot-5 Gabriel Bergeron (6 blocked shots) and Brandon Barber. They shot just 31 percent from the field (9-for-29), 2-for-13 on 3s and 7-for-18 on free throws.

"Right now we're trying to find some guys that will take the stuff we are working on in practice and transfer it to game situations," said Huber, whose team travels to Highland Park Saturday night. "Gradually we are finding guys who are able to do that. The guys who can do that will continue to play more and more."