Cary-Grove zones out Dundee-Crown
Cary-Grove has not yet perfected its zone defense.
A traditional man-defense team, the Trojans have been installing the high-pressure zone defense into bits and pieces of games hoping for results.
Cary-Grove got its results after throwing its zone all over Dundee-Crown during the second quarter of Tuesday night's matchup. The host Chargers committed 7 turnovers in the second quarter, leading to 9 Trojan points in Cary-Grove's 52-43 boys basketball victory in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division opener for both teams.
"I thought the game was decided then," Chargers' coach Lance Huber said. "They got a lot of confidence and we got a little shaky. We made a layup and then had about 4 or 5 turnovers in a row."
Leading 12-11 after the first period, the host Chargers (1-11, 0-1) scored just 6 points in the second period and attempted just 6 shots. Cary-Grove (7-9, 1-0) managed 14 points, including the stretch when Dundee-Crown turned the ball over 5 straight times.
"They kind of struggled with that," Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schuetzle said of his team's zone defense. "That was a big reason we won the game. They're smaller and have some inexperience at the win and guard spots."
Chad McCarron put the Trojans up 17-14 after an offensive putback, then nabbed a steal and found a wide-open Nick Richter. Richter's layup put the Trojans up 19-14. After another failed Dundee-Crown possession, Richter (12 points, 2 assists) connected on a 3-pointer putting the Trojans up 22-14.
McCarron (15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists) put the Trojans up 10, again after a forced turnover, this time off a Matt Jones steal.
"We play the passing lanes and get a quick steal to get some points," McCarron said. "We can mix it up."
The Trojans needed that balance of man and zone defenses after Dundee-Crown was able to find the holes in the zone in the third quarter.
Sean Bernhard scored 10 of his 15 points in the third quarter to bring the Chargers back within 33-32 late in the period. Bernhard (6 rebounds, 2 assists) nailed a pair of 3-pointers.
D-C could have gone into the final period trailing just 33-32, but McCarron found Alex Posey under the basket with 27 seconds left to extend the Trojans' lead to 35-32.
Dundee-Crown never got closer than 5 points in the rest of the game.
Center Ryan Smith opened the game scoring 5 first-quarter points for the Chargers and finished with 14, but took a hard fall in the third quarter which took him out of action until midway through the fourth quarter. He did nail a 3-pointer which brought the Chargers within 48-41 with 16 seconds left to play.