D-C claims Strombom title
A rotation of five Dundee-Crown starters and five role players took turns stepping to the fore offensively throughout the Leland G. Strombom Holiday tournament, but two factors remained constant regardless of the personnel coach Lance Huber put on the court: hustle and good defense.
The Chargers held Huntley without a 3-pointer, won the battle of the boards 30-20 and beat the Red Raiders to the majority of loose balls to claim a 60-50 victory and their second Strombom Tournament title in four seasons.
"We take pride in our defense," said D-C senior Marcus Henry, who was named to the all-tournament team along with teammates Jeff Beck and Rob Stupar. "They're a 3-point team, so that's what we wanted to do. That's mostly what we practice."
The Fox Valley Conference teams traded leads 5 times before they entered the fourth quarter tied at 36.
Dundee-Crown made its push at the start of the final period with an 8-1 run to take command. Beck ignited the surge with a lay in of an offensive rebound and followed a possession later with a spin move he turned into a layup and a three-point play.
After Huntley's Joe Murren split 2 free throws, Stupar (10 points) sank a 3-pointer that gave the Chargers a 44-37 advantage with 6:07 to play.
Leading 48-41, D-C all but iced the title when Henry scored an easy layup, thanks to Stupar's entry bounce pass, and Justin Strzelczyk followed by picking off a Huntley pass and coasting for a breakaway lead that ballooned the lead to 52-41 with 2:56 remaining.
The Chargers (3-0) sank 10-of-16 free throws down the stretch to keep Huntley (2-1) at bay.
"We just needed to come out and finish it," Beck said of the team's mindset at the start of the fourth quarter. "Coming out and getting a couple of baskets to put us ahead pumped everybody up and we just finished it off in the end. It feels great. I wasn't involved the last time we won it, so it feels good to come in here and get the win."
Huntley coach Marty Manning praised Dundee-Crown's hustle.
"Big time, they just wanted it more," Manning said of the Chargers. "They got the loose balls and the rebounds. It wasn't even with our lack of height. That wasn't even with (6-foot-6 Charles) Kimbrough in. They got to loose balls on both sides of the floor and they got more opportunities. I think we gave up 15 points on 13 offensive rebounds and lost by 10. That's the game."
Huntley jumped to a 17-8 lead early in the second quarter, but D-C used an 11-2 run fueled by 5 points from Stupar and a breakaway layup by Andy Schuessler (7 points) to tie the game at 19.
Jordan Neukirch led the Red Raiders with 14 points while Zac Boster scored 12 and Brett DePorter 10. Neukirch and Boster were named to the all-tournament team.
Henry finished with 14 points and 9 rebounds for Dundee-Crown.
The teams will play each other again on Friday in Carpentersville.