Huntley to meet D-C for title
Getting back quickly in transition and helping out defensively in the half-court game were the two points Huntley boys basketball coach Marty Manning said he stressed to his team in a two-hour pregame shootaround Friday.
And his players promptly forgot everything they were told in getting torched for 19 points by the host Spartans in the first quarter of a semifinal of the Leland G. Strombom Holiday Tournament at Sycamore.
After a gentle reminder between periods at a slightly higher volume, Manning's message sank in for the Red Raiders, who held Sycamore to 17 points the rest of the game to post an impressive 63-36 victory over the defending tournament champions.
Huntley (2-0) will try to win its second Strombom title in three seasons Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Fox Valley Conference rival Dundee-Crown, which defeated Kaneland 60-49 Friday.
"Outstanding," Manning said of the way his team clamped down defensively. "I'm really proud of the guys and the effort they displayed. I was quite unhappy with them in the first quarter because we were breaking down in the main areas we were trying not to break down in... When they play together as a team defensively and look to help each other out, they can be really good."
Sycamore (1-1) tied the game at 23 with 1:23 left in the second quarter. That was the last field goal the Spartans would score until Luke Johnson scored on a runner in the lane with 6:54 left in the fourth quarter, a drought that spanned 10:29.
"That's something we're really proud of," senior Zac Boster said of the way Huntley played defense. "It's a really good accomplishment for us as a team, especially so early in the season."
Boster led the Red Raiders with 16 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, in what his coach called "the best all-around game he's every played at the varsity level." Balanced Huntley received contributions from Jordan Neukirch (11 points), sophomore guard Tyler Brunschon (9 points) and 8 points apiece from seniors Brett DePorter and Tyler Lawrence.