Lemke's 3-pointer sparks CLS past Jacobs in OT
Robbie Lemke was confident the ball was going swiftly through the net.
The Crystal Lake South junior had every reason to feel good.
Lemke's 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in overtime gave the Gators the lead for good at 41-39. Then Ethan Breitenstein's 2 free throws with 36 seconds left sealed the Gators' 43-39 win over Jacobs in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division game at South's Gator Alley Tuesday night.
"I felt good when the ball left my hands," said Lemke. "I thought it had a good chance to go in. "
South coach Dan DeBruycker praised Lemke's efforts.
"He hit a shot like that against Harlem," said DeBruycker. "Robbie is a very good 3-point shooter and he is confident in those situations."
Jacobs' sharpshooter Matt Schmidt, who made only 4-of-22 shots from the floor and 2-of-10 from 3-point range, gave the Golden Eagles the lead 39-38 with 56 seconds left on a long 3-pointer.
Those were the last points the Eagles (3-12, 0-2) would score in the game as the Gators reeled off the final 5 points of the contest.
"The kids played hard, but we didn't play very well," said Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle. "We didn't shoot well and we made too many turnovers."
Jacobs, which made 6-of-10 shots in the first quarter, led 13-3 after 8 minutes. The Gators (10-6, 3-0) made only 1-of-10 from the field in the first quarter.
Jacobs grabbed its biggest lead early in the second quarter at 15-3 on a putback by Jon Kowalski.
Down by 12, the Gators mounted a comeback to end the first half. Led by 9 points from Alex Macaulay South concluded the half on a 13-2 run, slicing the Jacobs lead to 17-16 at intermission.
The Gators, who overcame 20 percent (10-of-50) shooting from the field and 25 percent shooting from 3-point range (5-of-20), grabbed their first lead of the game at 18-17 on a putback by Tyler Dawson with 6:22 left in the third quarter.
The Gators looked in good shape to record a win in regulation when Macaulay hit 1-of-2 free throws with 56 seconds left to give South a 35-31 lead
But the Eagles refused to quit and scored the final 4 points of the fourth quarter on baskets by Connor Conzelman and Pawel Korzec to tie the game it to overtime.
Macaulay, who made 11-of-13 free throws, led South with 18 points.
"I couldn't make my outside shot so I had to drive to the basket to get points and go to the free throw line," said Macaulay. "Jacobs is a tough team who really came after us. "
Schmidt and Conzelman led Jacobs with 10 points each.