Barch steps up to lead Jacobs

There is no doubt that Conrad Krutwig and Tim Moran are the main weapons in the Jacobs arsenal.

But veteran coach Jim Hinkle realizes for his team to win the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division and advance far in the state tournament, the Golden Eagles must get production from other sources.

That source of production Tuesday was junior forward Mike Barch.

Barch's 22 points, which included four 3-pointers along with 11 rebounds, led the Golden Eagles to a 64-50 win over Crystal Lake South in a league battle in Algonquin.

"Teams are going to concentrate on Timmy and Conrad," said Barch. "I was able to get some good shots."

Hinkle complimented Barch's play.

"Mike Barch is a very good player who can score," he said. "Teams are going to concentrate on stopping Conrad and Timmy and that gives Mike a lot of good shots."

Barch was the main reason the Golden Eagles (18-2, 4-0) were able to dominate the Gators during the first 16 minutes of action. The Jacobs junior scored 10 points and grabbed 7 boards as Jacobs opened up a 18-point 33-15 with a minute left in the first half.

Jacobs, which won for the 16th straight time this season and the 26th straight time in the Valley, led 35-19 at halftime.

The Gators (11-9, 1-3), who made only 8-of-25 shots for 32 percent in the first half, made a run at the Golden Eagles in the second half. Led by three 3-pointers from Eric Wilde, South trimmed the Eagles' lead to 47-41 with 6:08 left in the game.

Jacobs responded with 5 straight points including a 3 from Barch and a layup by Krutwig to take a 52-41 advantage with 4:04 left.

Jacobs made 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the last 2 minutes to seal the win.

Krutwig, who made 6-of-6 from the line in the waning moments, scored 22 points with 14 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. Moran scored 12 and Wilde led South with 16.

"Jacobs is a tough team to stop but we gave them way too many easy shots in the first half," said Gator coach Dan DeBruycker. "We went to a zone in the second half and we did a better job of contesting shots. "