Krutwig's 32 pace Jacobs in win over Crystal Lake South
Crystal Lake South boys basketball coach Matt LePage tried to utilize every defensive scheme possible in an attempt to slow down Jacobs junior center Cam Krutwig.
Nothing worked.
Connecting on 13-of-17 shots from the field, Krutwig scored 32 points including 23 in the second half to lead Jacobs to a 52-44 win over Crystal Lake South in Fox Valley Conference Valley Division action in Algonquin Friday night.
"In the second half, our bench was away from the basket and it was hard to communicate defensively on Krutwig," said LePage. "He is a load. It wasn't because of a lack of effort. The kids really competed tonight."
The Golden Eagles (18-4, 8-0) used great teamwork to get the ball to Krutwig. There were assists on all 13 baskets the junior converted.
Kyle Ross dealt out 9 assists while Nikolas Balkcom and Ryan Phillips dished out 2 apiece.
"I would rather have Cam shoot a 2-footer than shoot a 3," said Ross. "Every time I get the ball I am looking for Cam. He is a Division I player who does a great job of finishing."
Along with 32 points, Krutwig corralled 13 rebounds.
"I didn't have any great shots I just had to finish layups," said the Jacobs center. ''This is a very unselfish team and my teammates do a great job of getting me the ball in great position to score."
It was the Gators (13-9, 6-2) who set the tone in the first half. With Tim Siesennop canning 3-of-3 from 3-point range for 9 points and Zach Geske scoring 8 points Crystal Lake South led by 6, 29-23, at halftime.
South converted 12-of-20 shots from the field for 60 percent and made 4-of-8 from 3-point land for 50 percent during the first 16 minutes.
With Krutwig scoring all 12 points. Jacobs started the second half on a 12-4 run and took the lead for good 35-33 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
South got to within 45-44 on a layup from Geske with 1:45 left. Those would be the last points the Gators would score.
The Golden Eagles scored the last 6 points in the game, 5 by Krutwig. Geske paced the Gators with 18 while Siesennop had 4 treys for 12 points.
"This was a phenomenal high school basketball game," said Jacobs coach Jim Roberts. "We did a great job of executing our offense and Cam did a great job of finishing."