Charging to the top: D-C dumps Jacobs
For the first time in three seasons, sole possession of first place in the Valley Division of the Fox Valley Conference belongs to a boys basketball team other than Jacobs.
Dundee-Crown stormed to the division lead with a thrilling 67-63 victory over the host Golden Eagles in Algonquin on Friday night.
The loss snapped a 16-game winning streak for Jacobs (18-3, 4-1). The two-time defending champions had won 24 straight Valley games since the FVC instituted the two-division format for the 2006-07 season. Last year Jacobs swept two games against Dundee-Crown (14-4, 5-0).
"It's great," goateed D-C senior guard Jeff Beck said. "Everybody's fired up, and we really want to enjoy this. It's something that hasn't been done in a couple of years."
The well-played game featured just 8 combined turnovers by the District 300 rivals in front of a standing-room, frenzied crowd. The lead changed hands 19 times, at least once in every quarter.
"I thought our entire team played well," D-C coach Lance Huber said. "Both teams played excellent. It was just back and forth, back and forth. We were lucky to make the last shot and the clock ran out. That's about the story of the game and we'll take it."
Jacobs took its last lead at 63-62 with 1:13 to play when forward Mike Barch (14 points) was fouled and sank 2 free throws.
The Chargers took the lead for good on their ensuing possession, when senior Marcus Henry spotted 3-point specialist Rob Stupar cutting toward the corner on an inbounds play.
Stupar, who spent two hours Thursday night practicing his shot in an effort to break out of a recent shooting slump, drilled his fourth 3-pointer in 5 attempts to give D-C a 65-63 lead with 36 seconds to play. He finished with 12 points.
"It was an automatic off a set play," Stupar said. "They didn't come out and guard it, so it was wide open. I took it and it went in.
"I can't really believe what happened. I'm still trying to soak it in."
Jacobs attacked with Krutwig at the other end in an effort to tie. The 6-foot-5 South Dakota recruit posted up against 6-6 D-C center Charles Kimbrough, who had 4 fouls. Krutwig tried to take the ball to the basket on the low block, but Kimbrough stuffed the shot, his sixth block of the night and his fourth block of a Krutwig attempt.
"They were calling a lot of fouls because I was putting my forearm into him," said Kimbrough, who energized his team and D-C fans with 2 fourth-quarter, one-handed dunks. "On that play I was just trying to put my body into him and make him shoot straight up over me. It feels good. We needed this win."
Krutwig said the reason Jacobs lost was clear.
"Offense wasn't the problem; It was defense," he said. "We couldn't stop them. Their 3-point shooters got loose on the arc and that was the game." Dundee-Crown shot 6 of 13 from 3-point range.
Jacobs grabbed an 18-9 lead in the first quarter with a 10-0 run fueled by 2 Krutwig baskets, Mike Peterson's 3-pointer and driving layup and a Barch tip-in.
However, Dundee-Crown answered with an 11-0 surge of its own, sparked by a pair of Stupar 3-pointers. The Chargers went on to outscore the Eagles 26-13 the rest of the half.
The teams will meet again in Carpentersville on Feb. 27.
"We're halfway through the conference season," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said. "I tried to explain to the kids that any goal we might have is still attainable. If we'd won it, we'd still have to go out and take care of our business. Now our backs are against the wall a little bit more. D-C has a leg up on us. We just have to tend to business and see what happens next."
Henry scored 16 points and Justin Strzelczyk added 9 for the Chargers. Tim Moran contributed 11 points for Jacobs.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/multimedia/?category=19&type=video&item=84">Scenes from D-C vs. Jacobs game</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>