Dudzinski, Denlinger lead Kaneland over Glenbard S.
It's not how first-year Kaneland coach Brian Johnson drew it up, but two outstanding quarters of basketball allowed the Knights to overcome one sluggish one and win their Western Sun Conference opener Tuesday night in Maple Park.
Kaneland clicked on both ends of the court in the first half, opening up a 15-point lead over Glenbard South on its way to a 61-52 victory. The Raiders pulled as close as 5 in the fourth quarter.
"We played two quarters really hard and took the third quarter off and decided to play hard in the fourth," Johnson said. "Give credit to Glenbard South, they made us work for everything."
Three players scored at least 20 points: Glenbard South's Mike Rovansek led all scorers with 24 while Dave Dudzinski and Chaon Denlinger both scored 20 for the Knights.
The difference came in teams' shooting percentages. Kaneland made 53.6 percent of its shots (22 of 41) to the Raiders' 28.3 (15 of 53).
Kaneland (3-1, 1-0) was especially efficient in the first half, shooting a sizzling 60 percent from the field to open up a 35-20 halftime lead.
"We definitely made the most of our possessions in the first half," the Holy Cross bound Dudzinski said. "That was pretty good offensive efficiency. Defensive intensity was great and that helped create some good offensive possessions as well."
Nobody was hotter than Denlinger, whose 9-of-11 shooting from the field came mostly on baseline shots from 15 to 18 feet away.
"I really love the corner," Denlinger said. "I felt good in warmups, but I always feel good in warmups. It just depends on how it feels in the game and I was feeling good."
Denlinger, who tallied a career-high 21 last week against Hampshire, scored 10 points in both halves, and his second half output helped prevent the Raiders from coming all the way back.
Down 41-22 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Glenbard South got back into the game by scoring the final 11 points of the third quarter. John Hentges drained a pair of 3-pointers while Dudzinski picked up his third and fourth fouls in that same stretch and sat out the first three minutes of the fourth quarter.
Glenbard South trailed 44-38 when Dudzinski returned, and the senior scored on the Knights' next two possessions to push their lead to 48-38.
Shaky foul shooting - just 8 of 16 in the fourth quarter until Dudzinski hit four straight in the final 23 seconds - and 13 fourth-quarter points by Rovansek drew the Raiders within 57-52 before Dudzinski iced the game at the line.
"They got us in the hole early and it took a lot of energy to come back," Glenbard South coach Wade Hardtke said.
The Raiders are playing without Trace Wanless, who hurt his ankle at the end of the football season. Hardtke is not sure when Wanless will return.
"We've got a couple suspensions and a couple injuries from football," Hardtke said. "He's (Wanless) what makes us go, he's our engine. Mike has done a great job stepping up. Trace is kind of the same guy on the basketball court as he is on the football field.
"When we get full strength I think we'll be all right. Meanwhile there's a lot of guys getting a lot of opportunities right now."
That goes for Kaneland too. Johnsen worked 11 players into his rotation. Ryley Bailey (6 points, 5 assists) drilled shots to beat both the first and second quarter buzzers. Steve Colombe led Kaneland's bench with 5 points.
"We've been talking constantly about defense creating good possessions on offense," Johnson said. "When we are into it on defense we're tough."