Depth carries Huntley to win
Huntley's boys basketball team certainly runs deep this year.
Stillman Valley found out the depth of the Red Raiders in Huntley's 56-47 victory in its opening game of the 45th Annual Leland G. Strombom Tournament at Sycamore.
The Red Raiders (1-0) got 25 total bench points and senior Tyler Lawrence led all players with 15 points off the bench. Stillman Valley (0-1) got just 10 points from its nonstarters.
"Without Joe Muren's defense and Tyler Lawrence's offense, there is no way we win this game," Huntley coach Marty Manning said. "Tyler and Joe off the bench were good."
Lawrence's offensive efforts allowed Huntley to turn a 43-42 deficit entering the fourth quarter into a hefty 50-43 lead. The senior guard scored a bucket and nailed two 3-pointers in the first 1:25 of the fourth quarter to give Huntley a lead and some much needed momentum.
"We got a lot of stops on defense and I got some good looks off and the momentum shifted," said Lawrence, who was 5 of 8 from the floor.
A defensive effort led by Muren handled things the rest of the way. Huntley held Stillman Valley to just 2 of 10 from the floor in the final period and limited the Cardinals to just 4 points. The defensive-minded fourth quarter came after the Cardinals' offense had let loose to score 20 points in the third quarter, going 9 of 15.
The 20-point third period erased Huntley's 26-23 halftime lead quickly and Stillman went on to score 13 points in the final 4 minutes of the period. The Red Raiders changed things for the fourth quarter stretch run.
After Marcus Bruder's offensive putback cut Huntley's lead to 50-47 in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals did not score again.
Seniors Jordan Neukirch (9 points, 2 assists) and Brett DePorter each nailed a pair of free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory. Zac Boster added 12 points for Huntley, but the sharpshooter did not connect on a 3-pointer, a usual staple in Boster's game.
"Zac Boster scoing 12 points, without a 3, that's really good," Manning said.