Grayslake Central 43, Huntley 31

Huntley was given a gift Tuesday night: a Prairie Ridge victory over Grayslake Central, leaving the Rams and the Red Raiders tied for the Fox Valley Conference's Fox Division lead with one game remaining.

In a battle for divisional supremacy, Central and Huntley met Friday to decide the division winner.

Yet, Huntley couldn't take advantage of the gift it was given.

Central's defense knocked the ball away twice for layups and had Huntley taking shots it normally doesn't take, putting the Rams ahead by 5 with under four minutes remaining.

As Jordan Neukirch's pass slipped past the hands of Mike Gonzaga, who was open on the right wing, the Raiders' chance to win the Fox Division was slipping, too.

"We couldn't connect on any pass, and our shots weren't falling," said Huntley's Dan Regan.

Credit Grayslake Central's defense, which forced Huntley into 11 second-half turnovers and a shooting percentage of 33 as the Rams clinched the Fox Valley Conference's Fox Division championship 43-31 over Huntley, ending a nine-year championship drought.

"The whole day at school I was telling people this is the most nervous I've ever been for a game," Rams forward Andrew Sipes said.

Tuesday's loss had no effect on the Rams (20-6, 8-2), who bolstered their defense after Huntley (17-9, 7-3) cut the halftime lead to one on Neukirch's bucket with 1:14 left in the half.

In the second half, though, Huntley's shooting went cold.

"We picked a bad night to go cold -- 1-for-11 from 3-point. When we hit a couple more, it's a different game," Huntley coach Marty Manning said.

After Gonzaga tipped in his own miss early in the fourth, cutting the Rams' lead to 3, Grayslake's defense came to life again. Sipes (10 points) stole the ball and extended the lead to 5 on a layup. After Neukirch's pass to Gonzaga fell short, the Raiders fouled, sending Central to the free throw line the rest of the quarter and burying any chance of coming back.

"We couldn't beat this team last year. Last year we had tied for first, so this year it stings a little more," Regan said.

"This is great experience for us to be in this situation, last game of the year, having some value to this game, having to travel. What a great opportunity for us," said Grayslake Central coach Tim Bowen.

Mike Brumm led the Rams with 12 points and Neukirch led the Raiders with 10.