Huntley stuns Jacobs, will play D-C for title
There were shock waves reverberating all around Dundee-Crown High School Wednesday night.
No, there wasn't an earthquake or any type of seismic distress.
The rumblings were caused by third-seeded Huntley's stunning 59-52 win over second-seeded Jacobs in a semifinal game of the Class 4A Dundee-Crown boys basketball regional.
The Red Raiders (15-12) advance to play top seed and host Dundee-Crown for the regional championship at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Jacobs finishes the season 24-4.
"Our kids wanted to play Jacobs and were totally prepared," said Huntley coach Marty Manning, whose team had lost to Jacobs 56-33 on Dec. 12. "With our size we aren't going to get a lot of inside shots. We moved the basketball well and we got good shots and we made them tonight."
With the game tied at 32 at halftime, the Red Raiders put the defensive clamps on Jacobs in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles, who made only 1-of-11 shots for 9 percent, scored only 5 points. The smothering Huntley defense held
Jacobs senior center Conrad Krutwig without a point in the quarter.
"Conrad is the best player in the (Fox Valley) conference and in the area so we had to make sure we knew where he was on the court," said Manning. "The kids did a great job of fronting him and denying him. It was a great defensive team effort."
While holding Jacobs to 5 points, the Red Raiders scored 11 points in the quarter and led 43-37 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Golden Eagles scored the first points of the fourth quarter on a 5-footer in the lane by Krutwig to cut the Huntley deficit to 43-39 with 6:02 remaining.
But the Red Raiders responded courtesy of pair of 3-pointers one each By Zac Boster and Tyler Brunschon. Boster, who scored a game-high 21 points, made a 3 and Brunschon buried a shot from beyond the arc and the Red Raiders had a 49-39 lead with 4:22 left.
"All night I got good shots because of a lot of good screens and ball movement," said Boster. "We were very patient all night with our offense and I was able to hit some shots."
Trailing by 9, the Golden Eagles refused to quit. A 3-pointer by Nick Hofman with 1:33 left pulled Jacobs within 51-48. But Huntley followed with a 3 from Boster to give the Red Raiders a 54-48 advantage with 1:22 remaining.
Jordan Neukirch followed Boster with 13 points for Huntley. Krutwig scored 15 points with 11 rebounds and had 4 assists for Jacobs. Mike Peterson added 12 points.
"Huntley played extremely well and we couldn't make shots," said Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle. "We got good shots all night long. It was a tough finish for Conrad and Timmy (Moran). It was a great 4-year era as we won (93) games with only 19 losses."