D-C aiming for 3rd win vs. McHenry
The sweet taste of success has left the Dundee-Crown boys basketball team wanting more.
The Chargers' accomplishments this season are many - a Thanksgiving tournament title at Sycamore, a pair of heart-stopping victories against District 300 rival Jacobs, an undefeated Valley Division title in the Fox Valley Conference and the Carpentersville school's second regional championship in three years (and third in six years).
Each achievement is noteworthy, but the Chargers harbor higher aspirations.
"Winning conference undefeated and winning the regional - it's all great," D-C senior guard Jeff Beck said. "It's been fun, but we haven't finished our goals yet. We still want to achieve a little bit more and I think we can do that."
Dundee-Crown (21-5) will try to advance to a sectional final for the first time since 2004, when it faces Valley Division foe McHenry (16-12) in a Class 4A Elgin sectional semifinal today at 7:30 p.m.
Chargers coach Lance Huber has yet to notice a level of satisfaction from his players despite the success they've experienced to date.
"From the outset I think this team wanted a little more than what we've gotten so far," Huber said. "I don't think we've achieved all our goals. We're really happy with what we have, but I think there's a little more left in the guys. They've responded well the last couple of weeks and, hopefully, we can keep it going."
To advance to the sectional final, Dundee-Crown must defeat the Warriors for the third time. D-C won 72-56 at McHenry on Jan. 31, powered by 26 points from Beck, 16 from senior guard Aaron Reams and 8 points apiece from 6-foot-6 center Charles Kimbrough and senior guard Greg McNally.
The Chargers completed a regular-season sweep with a 59-53 victory in Carpentersville on Feb. 20, but it wasn't easy. McHenry senior Chris Madson, an AAU teammate of Beck and Kimbrough, scored 25 points to keep the Warriors within a possession of the lead for most of the fourth quarter.
Madson averages 15.2 points and 12.4 rebounds a game. His drives in the paint landed Kimbrough in early foul trouble, and Madson was able to score in the paint with regularity. The Chargers jumped to a 22-12 lead after one quarter, but McHenry outscored them 41-37 the rest of the game.
"Chris Madson is a great player," Beck said. "He can score and he's a big rebounder. Hopefully, Charles can handle him or we'll have to double down a little bit. They have some good shooters - young guards - but good shooters. One of them went for 20 (points) in the last game. They're definitely dangerous on the perimeter. We have to step out on them."
The 20-point scorer Beck mentioned is McHenry junior guard Ryan Terrill, who led the Warriors to their fifth straight win and the football school's first regional boys basketball title since 1978.
The Warriors hosted a regional, where they were the No. 4 seed. Different heroes emerged in each of their 3 victories. Junior guard Brett Palmer won the opener with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Woodstock 60-59; Senior guard Rob Mortel sank three 3-pointers in the second half of a 44-41 victory over top seed Crystal Lake South; and Terrill scored 20 in a 56-50 victory over Prairie Ridge in the regional title game while holding Wolves' leading scorer Chad Ljunggren to 7 points.
A key for McHenry against D-C will be rebounding. The Chargers controlled the glass in the two earlier victories.
"The big thing is keeping them off the boards," McHenry coach Tim Paddock said. "Our first-shot defense has been pretty good throughout the year, but when we played them both times we were giving them second and third shots. We have to make sure that everybody's honoring everybody on the boards.
"And we have to muddy up the lane, keep guys from going north and south. (Beck) has played well against us a couple of times, so we have to make sure he has tough looks. He's going to hit shots because he does a lot of things well. It's not like you can key in on one thing because he'll drive a bit, he'll shoot when open, he'll rebound and he'll play good defense.
"We have to try to eliminate as many easy chances as we can in the transition game and make them shoot over hands, then rebound."
The suddenly hot Warriors were last defeated by Dundee-Crown on Feb. 20.
"At this time of year you expect whoever you play to be a solid team, and McHenry is playing excellent basketball right now," Huber said. "They say you save your best for the end. Well, they've really peaked at the right time. They've just come on and have taken it up a notch since our game. Tim's doing a great job with them and they're playing awesome."
The winner will face St. Charles North (22-8) for the sectional title on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The North Stars defeated Rockford Auburn 68-52 in the first semifinal on Tuesday.