DeKalb slows Kaneland

For much of the first two quarters, Friday night's battle of Western Sun Conference big men was dominated by a group of smaller guys who were guarding the perimeter.

Both teams put the emphasis on defense, stifling DeKalb's Jordan Threloff and Kaneland's Dave Dudzinski until the third quarter, when the Barbs and their marquee player took over and came away with a big road win, 50-37.

For Threloff and Dudzinski the game represented a chance to renew their long time, ongoing battle for bragging rights.

"We started playing each other in sixth or seventh grade, and now it's just a great matchup," Threloff said. "It's fun to play against another 6-8 guy. It's always a challenge to play against him, and it's always a good game."

The two squads stumbled through an anemic opening quarter. Shots were not dropping, entry passes were not reaching their targets, and DeKalb led 8-4 after the first 8 minutes.

"For a while we didn't have any sync whatsoever," DeKalb coach David Rohlman said. "Some of our guys came off the bench and several different players contributed. That's what sustained us."

Crisp ball movement by the Barbs began creating scoring chances in the second quarter. But Kaneland countered as Dudzinski finally broke into the scoring column. Still, neither team was especially pleased with its first half output as DeKalb carried a 19-16 edge into the break.

"For the most part we played good defense, but we still have to figure out how to score points," Kaneland coach Dennis Hansen said. "Our offense tonight was just atrocious."

DeKalb came out firing at the start of the second half. When Dylan Donnelly drained his first of two 3-pointers, capping a 7-0 run, it appeared as though the Barbs were on the verge of running away with it.

But Mike Pritchard answered with a three of his own, and while the Barbs continued threatening to turn the game into a blowout during much of the second half, the Knights (8-8, 2-6) still had a chance to pull it out late in the final quarter.

"We had key possessions and turned the ball over," Hansen said. "We have to learn how to beat the better teams. We're not that far away, we just have to get more consistent on the offensive end."

It wasn't until the final minute that DeKalb (11-6, 6-1) could finally relax and put this one in the win column.

"We played harder and smarter in the second half," Rohlman said. "We made the extra passes and started getting the little things done."

Threloff topped all scorers with 20 points, 16 in the second half. Dudzinski led the Knights with 13, and added 4 blocks, two of which were on shots by his rival center.