Golden Eagles able to survive
John Moran looked like someone who just finished a 12-bout heavyweight fight.
But when the last whistle blew, Moran and the Jacobs Golden Eagles were declared the winner of the bout.
Moran, who sported a battle scar on his left eye, scored 17 points with 6 assists and 5 steals to lead the Golden Eagles to a hard-fought 66-60 win over Cary-Grove in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division contest in Cary Saturday night.
"It was a very physical game," said Moran. "I tripped, fell and hit my eye hard on the floor. I am OK. We lost our composure and poise in the first half. Coach (Jim Hinkle) told us at halftime that we had to make better decisions and keep our composure in the second half. We played more under control in the second half. It was a total team win. Everybody contributed."
Cary-Grove (12-10, 3-2) grabbed control of the game in the second quarter. With Mark and Paul Tometich scoring 5 points apiece, the Trojans went on a 12-2 run toward the end of the second quarter. A 3 from deep in the left corner by Mark Tometich with 22 seconds before intermission gave the Trojans a 35-27 lead.
But Jacobs (20-2, 6-0) seized the momentum going into the halftime locker room when Eric Schmidt buried a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Cary-Grove lead to 35-30 at the half.
"That shot by Schmidty at the half was huge," said Hinkle. "He got himself a clean look and knocked it down. That gave us momentum."
The Golden Eagles, who beat Cary-Grove 59-54 earlier in the season, fed off Schmidt's buzzer-beater and started the third quarter by scoring 8 unanswered points. Threes by John Moran and Patton Hofer and a putback by Tim Moran helped Jacobs turn a 5-point deficit to a 3-point lead, 38-35, with 5:59 left in the third quarter.
Jacobs held a tenuous 2-point advantage, 50-48, with 5:11 left, when it reeled off 6 straight points to take control of the game. A pair of baskets by Conrad Krutwig and a layup by Schmidt gave Jacobs a 56-48 with 3:56 remaining.
The Trojans refused to quit. A 3 by Paul Tometich with 1:12 remaining sliced the Jacobs lead to 60-58. But Cary-Grove couldn't get any closer.
Four free throws by Zack Peterson in the final 30 seconds sealed the win for Jacobs.
"Cary-Grove was ready to play but so were we," said Hinkle. "Cary-Grove is a very good team and they played a great game. We turned up the defense in the second half. Zack and John are not only very good offensive players, but they play great defense. They did a great job on the Tometich twins. We gave them a little space to shoot in the first half and they made shots. We gave them no room to shoot in the second half and limited their shots."
Peterson backed Moran with 14 points. Krutwig and Schmidt scored 10 apiece for the winners.
Paul Tometich scored 22 with four 3-pointers to lead the Trojans while Mark Tometich tallied 21 with three 3s.
"It was a very good high school basketball game," said Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schueltze. "The kids played hard and we gave ourselves a chance to win. They just had to much size and strength for us."