Jacobs 79, McHenry 30
Sure, Eric Schmidt would like to start.
But on a talented Jacobs team, Schmidt is relegated to coming off the bench.
Schmidt, who was a starter earlier in the season, scored 10 points to help lead the Golden Eagles to a 48-30 win over Dundee-Crown in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division game in Carpentersville Friday night.
The Golden Eagles (24-2 overall), who claimed their second straight Valley Division crown with a 79-43 win over McHenry Tuesday night, finished a perfect 10-0 in league play for the second straight season.
Schmidt, who was 4-of-6 from the field, made 2-of-3 from 3-point range and dished out 3 assists.
"I am not one to complain," said Schmidt. "I just want to go out and play hard and do well when I get a chance to play. "
Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle praised Schmidt's play.
"He was a starter earlier in the season but he is a much better player off the bench," said Hinkle. "Schmidty played a great game tonight.
The second quarter proved to be pivotal. Playing at a slower tempo, Dundee-Crown (12-13, 5-5) stayed right with Jacobs in the first quarter. A Zack Peterson layup right before the end of the quarter gave Jacobs an 11-8 advantage after 8 minutes.
In the second quarter, Jacobs upped the defensive pressure and D-C couldn't make a shot.
The Golden Eagles scored the first 5 points of the quarter on a conventional 3 by Peterson along with a putback by Schmidt and Jacobs opened the gap to 16-8 with 5:33 left in the half.
The Chargers scored their only points of the quarter on a 12-footer in the lane by David Bernard to make the score 16-10.
The Golden Eagles scored the final 7 points of the quarter including a 18-footer by John Moran to end the half to give Jacobs a 23-10 lead at intermission.
Jacobs forced 6 D-C turnovers and the Chargers made only 1-of-10 from the floor in the middle quarter .
Jacobs made sure there wouldn't be a D-C comeback by starting the second half on a 9-2 run. Moran scored 5 points and Schmidt canned a 3 as the Golden Eagles led 32-12 with 4:55 left in the third quarter.
The Golden Eagles' defense totally stymied the Chargers. D-C, which committed 21 turnovers, made only 13-of-47 from the field for 26 percent.
With blanket defense from Tom Krueger and Darius Bowers, D-C's leading scorer Jeff Beck was held to 8 points.
Conrad Krutwig (18 rebounds) and Moran (6 assists) led the Golden Eagles with 12 points apiece.
Moran missed nearly 3 minutes of play in the fourth quarter with a deep knee bruise. He should be ready for regional play next week.
Junior Tim Moran, who missed 2 games with mononucleosis, returned to score 4 points with 7 rebounds.
Bernard was the lone Charger in double figures with 15.
"We didn't shoot very well and had way too many untimely and unforced turnovers," said Dundee-Crown coach Lance Huber. Give Jacobs credit. They are a great team who put great defensive pressure on us."