Wrap: DePorter's 3 lifts Huntley
It was a tough night for Brett DePorter.
It was a tough week and night for the Huntley Red Raiders.
But in the end both DePorter and the Red Raiders were happy.
DePorter, who missed his first 7 shots of the night, buried a 3-pointer off a perfect feed from Jordan Neukirch with 2.4 seconds left, which lifted Huntley to a hard-fought 35-33 win over Prairie Ridge in a Fox Valley Conference Fox Division game in Crystal Lake Friday night.
"It felt real good when the ball left my hand," said DePorter. "I practice that shot a lot and I got a real good look. Jordan (Neukirch) gave me a nice pass and it was great to help the team win. It didn't even enter my mind that I hadn't made a shot all night long. It was a good shot within the flow of our offense."
Huntley coach Marty Manning was just glad to see his team win.
"It was a tough week," the Huntley coach said. "We needed this win to stay alive in the conference race and Brett came up big. He got a good look and hit a huge shot. This was a great team win. We need to worry about ourselves right now and not our opponents. We need to get in the gym and get in some good practice time."
Huntley, which lost 2 Fox Division games earlier in the week, moved to 6-2 in league play and 16-8 overall.
Even after DePorter's basket the Wolves (4-21, 2-6) had a chance to pull out a win.
PR quickly moved the ball down the court and got the ball to senior guard Mike Ungari. Ungari's 3-pointer from 20 feet out at the buzzer bounced high off the rim and gave Huntley a narrow 2-point win.
"I thought that last shot was going in," said Prairie Ridge coach Corky Card. "The kids have been behind the 8-ball all season and have never packed it in or quit. We gave ourselves a chance to win. That is all you can ask.
"This was a very good high school basketball game tonight."
PR looked in good shape entering the fourth quarter, holding a 28-22 advantage.
However, the Red Raiders quickly sliced into the Prairie Ridge lead to start the fourth quarter. A 3-pointer from Tom Giordano and layup by Mike Gonzaga pulled Huntley within 28-27 with 6:22 remaining.
Huntley, which led in the first minute of the game, regained the advantage when Neukirch splashed a 3-pointer with 3:27 left to give the Red Raiders a 32-30 lead.
But PR responded with a layup from Bryan Bradshaw and a free throw by Ungari and to give the Wolves a 33-32 lead with 34.8 seconds left, setting the stage for DePorter's heroics.
Giordano led Huntley with 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Neukirch scored 6 with 9 rebounds.
PR's Ungari was the game's high scorer with 11.
Boys basketball
Belvidere 55, Dundee-Crown 51:ŒLate game heroics from the Dundee-Crown boys basketball team to cut a 9-point deficit to 2 points with just under two minutes left to play proved to be to little too late as the Chargers fell 55-51 to Belvidere in nonconference action.
Trailing 50-41 with 1:18 remaining, Jeff Beck connected for two on an offensive rebound. Following a Kyle Vickstrom pick forced by full-court pressure from the Chargers, Rob Stupar went 1-for-2 from the line to bring D-C within 6-points at 50-44.
Belvidere's Moe Shahbain answered, sinking two from the foul line with 1:14 left on the clock, but Beck charged down the court and dropped a layup to stay within 6.
With the press on, D-C forced another quick turnover, and an Aaron Reams swipe resulted in 2 points from Vickstrom to make it 52-48.
The Chargers would get as close as they could before the final buzzer when Stupar came off the bench and found nothing but net from behind the arc with 18 seconds left to play cutting the lead to 53-51.
Unfortunately for D-C, Belvidere would go 10-for-14 from the foul line in the final quarter which was enough to keep the Bucs on top, and earn them the win. Shahbain would account for four of those points capping off a 10-for-10 night from the free thrown line.
For Dundee-Crown, it was a different story. Scoring would not come so easy.
Opening the game going 0-for-4 from the field set the tempo for what would later become an ongoing offensive struggle.
"Shots weren't falling," said Beck. "We were settling for outside shots from the start. We didn't have the patience to get inside."
Beck (3 assists, 3 steals) would lead all scorers with 18 points. Reams came off the bench to add 9 points.
Despite the struggle to convert, the Chargers (11-11) did take a 24-23 lead into the second half. But, following an alley-oop from David Bernard (8 rebounds, block) to Beck and a dunk from Charles Kimbrough (5 points, 5 rebounds) to put D-C up 30-27 early in the third, full-court pressure from Belvidere led them on an 11-0 run.
After six lead changes, the Bucs would go up 41-34 with 8 minutes remaining, and never look back.
"Belvidere did a great job of taking us out of what we wanted to do," said D-C coach Lance Huber. "Jeff got into foul trouble early, but we need to have guys that can come off the bench and play.
"Aaron did an excellent job for us. The press was pretty physical, but we have to make adjustments.
"David did a great job rebounding, but nobody else was there for us tonight."
Forward Wade Mootrey led the Bucs with 15 points.
-- Jen LaPorte
East Aurora 84, Streamwood 60:ŒNot much has gone right for Streamwood's boys basketball team this season.
The Sabres (5-19, 1-8) are a team in need of a break, and going into Friday night's Upstate Eight clash at East Aurora it appeared they had caught one before the game had started.
The Tomcats played short-handed after suspending two of their starters for violating team rules, something Streamwood might've been able to take advantage of, and turn a tough trip to Aurora into a win.
Except, it didn't work out that way.
East Aurora displayed its quickness, athleticism, and most of all its depth, and improved to 15-9, and 4-5 in the conference with an 84-60.
"We tried to prepare for this, but you really can't simulate what they do when you don't have the kind of athletes that East Aurora does," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "We'd make a little bit of a run, but then we'd commit a turnover here and there. I'm disappointed we didn't take better care of the ball."
Beyond the issue of taking care of the ball, something which was underscored by 24 turnovers, the Sabres lacked any sort of balanced scoring. For most of the game, just three players were responsible for all of Streamwood's points.
Tem Esikiel was tops among those three. The junior scored 27 points and swiped 5 steals.
"He's been playing like that for the last month," Jones said. "He did it within the frame of the offense."
T.J. Enno also did his part for Streamwood, scoring 19 while pulling down 10 boards.
"(Enno) has been doing that for us all year," Jones said.
East Aurora's William Brown did not start the game, coach Wendell Jeffries explained that other players had earned that right in practice. But once the senior entered the game he went to work and led the Tomcats to a 23-11 lead after one quarter. Brown hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, then slashed and dashed through the Sabre defense in the second.
-- Henry Perez
Lake Park 71, Larkin 65:ŒLarkin found itself in a great position to win Friday night's game against Lake Park.
The Lancers found an even better position.
After Lucas Antioho scored a bucket and drew a foul with 52 seconds remaining, Larkin was whistled for a technical foul. Antioho missed the free throw, but Danny Baylis sank both of Œthe technical free throws to help Lake Park to a 71-65 Upstate Eight Conference victory in Elgin.
"We've had a few games this year where we haven't been able to finish," said Baylis, who led all scorers with 25 points. "We've been in this situation before and we were determined not to lose. We played harder."
Larkin guard Jeff Saurbaugh (10 points, 5 assists, 2 steals) scored off an offensive putback to bring Larkin to within 65-63 with 1:03 remaining. The 2-point deficit was the closest Lake Park (8-16, 2-7) had allowed Larkin (1-22, 0-9) since the closing minutes of the first half.
Antioho (7 points) responded immediately when he scored and drew the foul on the Lancers' next trip down the floor. But it was Baylis' free throws that really sealed the deal.
Baylis, who finished the game 7 of 12 from the floor, extended Lake Park's lead to 69-63 with 52 seconds remaining. Messiah Lewis (12 points) missed on Larkin's next trip down the court, with Antioho nabbing the rebound and getting fouled. He split his free throws, extending the lead to 70-63.
"They had too many old-fashioned 3-point plays," Royals coach Larry Hight said. "We didn't have enough contact. They didn't pick people up on those layups."
Larkin allowed 5 and-1s in the game, with most damaging came when Baylis was fouled after making basket 34 seconds before halftime. Baylis' put the Lancers up 34-23 going into the locker room after converting the 3-point play.
Larkin had led 25-24 with 1:30 left in the second quarter, but the Lancers got baskets by Pat Proctor and Danny Howard (8 points) and a 3-pointer from Baylis. Lake Park finished the final 1:30 of the first half on a 10-0 run.
Lake Park's bench contributed 40 points in the victory.
-- Matt Stacionis
Boys basketball
Hampshire 52, North Boone 34: The Whip Purs (12-12, 6-4) defeated North Boone in the Big Northern-East. James Goebbert led Hampshire, collecting 14 points. Justin Bieber also posted 11 points for the Whips.
Crystal Lake South 40, McHenry 36: The Gators (2-5, 12-11) were led by Wesley Evans (14 points) in a Fox Valley (Valley) victory over McHenry (0-7, 6-17). Steven Rogers (10 points) and Adam Olszewski (6 points) each contributed for CL South.
Aurora Christian 69, Westminster Christian 64: Joel Benson scored 25 points and Tyler Beachler added 14 but Westminster Christian (18-8) couldn't come back from a 15-point halftime deficit and fell in the third place game of the Private School League Tournament. Ryan Beachler added 12 points for the Warriors.
Girls basketball
Van Dorin to state: Hampshire freshman Jessie VanDorin qualified for the state finals in the IHSA 3-point showdown Thursday night at the Class 2A Oregon sectional.
Van Dorin made 8 of her 15 attempts to advance to Redbird Arena in Normal, where she will compete in the state finals next Thursday evening.
"In a house full of coaches, you bounce things off each other a lot and one night (her husband) Doug suggested Jessie shoot in the competition," said Hampshire coach Sue Ellett. "And here she is going downstate. It's neat for her and the school."
Van Dorin's now-graduated brother Josh advanced to the Class A boys state finals in Peoria last year.
-- John Radtke