CL South battles top seed Jefferson

The Crystal Lake South boys basketball team wants history to repeat itself.

The Gators won their last regional championship in 2002, when they hosted a Class AA regional and defeated Rockford Jefferson for the title, 46-45.

Much has changed in the eight years since - like the IHSA adopting a 4-class system for the basketball postseason - but the matchup and venue for tonight's regional championship game remain the same: No. 3 seed Crystal Lake South (15-11) will play No. 1 Jefferson (21-7) for the hardware tonight at Gator Alley.

"We definitely told the kids that (history)," said CL South coach Dan DeBruycker, who was the Gators' sophomore coach in 2002. "We had a good basketball team that season and it was a fun experience. I'm excited for our kids to be a part of this."

CL South advanced to the title game by surviving against No. 2 McHenry in Tuesday's semifinal, 45-44.

The J-Hawks ousted No. 4 Huntley on Tuesday, 47-43, while playing short-handed. They took the floor without senior guard Mershon Wilkes, who leads his team in scoring with 12 points per game. He did not dress Tuesday and his status for the title game is uncertain.

In Wilkes' absence on Tuesday, senior guard Jermarkus Lovett (5-7) scored 16 points, surpassing his season scoring average of 9.5. Senior forward Mario Manns (6-1) averages 10.8 points per game, but he did not score against Huntley while playing with an injured ankle. However, one of the J-Hawks' strengths is their depth.

"When I've seen them play they go eight, nine, sometimes 10 guys deep," DeBruycker said. "They're going to come at you. They are athletic and they have a few guys who can shoot it. They're 21-7 for a reason."

The Gators counter with junior forward Kevin Rogers, junior point guard Ethan Breitenstein and senior guard Alex Macaulay, among others. Rogers does most of his damage from 3-point range. Entering the playoffs, he had connected on 61-of-161 attempts from 3-point range (37.9 percent).

Breitenstein paced the Gators in the semifinal. He scored 17 points, including four 3-pointers, and had 4 assists. Macaulay is the Gators' best defender, also averaging 10 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

CL South hopes to make use of its home-court advantage by focusing on the basics.

"I think we're going to have to control the tempo and we have to rebound well," DeBruycker said. "We have to play fundamentally sound. We can't make a bunch of errors and throw up any random shot we have. We're going to have to play smart."