Smith, Dundee-Crown top Prairie Ridge
Ryan Smith was having his share of offensive struggles in the first half of Friday's game against Prairie Ridge.
The Dundee-Crown senior then hit a buzzer-beater to cap off a 5-0 run at the end of the first half putting the Chargers up 21-16.
Smith's success carried into the second half as he scored 9 third-quarter points and led Dundee-Crown past the Wolves 51-40 in a Fox Valley Conference boys basketball crossover Friday in Carpentersville.
"In the first 3 minutes of the third quarter, we wanted to come out strong and not let them crawl back into the game," said Smith, who led all players with 18 points. "It all started on defense. We knew if we got stops, we were going to win the game."
The Chargers (5-1) extended their 5-0 run at the end of the second half to a 13-2 run to go up 29-18 off a Nathan Kirchhoff basket with 4:57 left in the third quarter. Smith (2 blocks) finished the period going 3 of 4 from the floor after shooting just 2 of 6 in the first half.
The Wolves (1-4) were outscored 17-9 in the third quarter. Prairie Ridge went 2 of 11 from the floor in the third period and went 4 minutes, 44 seconds without a field goal.
The Chargers shot a combined 50 percent (7 of 14) from the floor.
"The end of the second period was pretty impressive," Chargers' coach Lance Huber said. "They outscored us 8-0 to take the lead. (Then) we scored the last 5."
Prairie Ridge went up 14-12 off a pair of free throws from Nick Margiotta with 2:56 left in the first half.
The teams then tied at 14 and 16 before a 3-pointer from Will Stupar and then Smith's buzzer-beater ended the half.
The Wolves' 16-14 lead was the last time Prairie Ridge led the game and the first lead since scoring the game's initial basket.
Dundee-Crown maintained its lead by controlling the rebounds. Jamel Kimbrough, in particular, controlled the offensive glass scoring 8 points off 4 offensive boards. Kimbrough finished the game with 16 points and 6 rebounds to go along with 4 steals and 2 assists. D-C outrebounded the Wolves 26-18.
"Offensive rebounding and rebounding was very important," Kimbrough said. "In the second half we came out and wanted to keep it going."
Dundee-Crown looked to slow Prairie Ridge's main offensive threat, Sean Valentine, with a host of different defenders. Huber praised Marshawn Brown's defensive effort off the bench for the way he was able to limit Valentine, who went 5 of 14 from the floor.