Dundee-Crown fights past Huntley's 'D'

Dundee-Crown boys basketball coach Lance Huber hoped his team could score 50 points Friday night in the Class 4A Dundee-Crown regional final against Huntley.

The Chargers didn't get near that number thanks to the physical defense the Red Raiders played.

The defense helped keep the pace to Huntley's liking and kept the game close, but D-C was able to pull out a 35-33 victory.

"They wouldn't let us do anything that we wanted to do," Huber said.

Huntley senior Jordan Neukirch drew the assignment of guarding D-C leader Jeff Beck. He was able to keep Beck in check for most of the night. Neukirch, who is 6-foot-2, has a little bit more size than the 6-1 Beck and was more physical than most defenders have been with Beck. The D-C senior, who averages 18 points a game, scored a team-high 10 points on shooting 4 for 10 shooting.

"Beck puts up great numbers and, in my mind, is probably the top player in Fox Valley Conference this year," said Neukirch, a senior. "As a team leader and captain of this team, I felt it's my job to try to hold him and contain him."

Beck got involved offensively in the third quarter when the Chargers outscored Huntley 15-8 to erase a 17-14 half deficit and take a 29-25 lead into the fourth quarter. Beck scored 8 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the third, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

D-C was held to 34 percent shooting, 12 for 35, for the game.

"(Neukirch) is big, physical guy," Beck said. "The other guys tried to screen him, but he was running right through them and chasing me around. He did a great job of playing defense tonight."

That third quarter proved the be a big difference.

Senior Brett DePorter nailed a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the third quarter to give Huntley a 20-14 lead. But the Red Raiders shot only 25 percent, 3 for 12, in the quarter and were outscored 15-5 after DePorter's 3-pointer.

"We had a bunch of shots go in and out," Huntley coach Marty Manning said. "If we knock those down and jump out to a good lead, we could have made them play catch up."