CL South stifles Cary-Grove
Team work and stifling defense.
Those ingredients keyed Crystal Lake South's 42-32 win over Cary-Grove in Consolation A play at the Jacobs
Holiday Classic Thursday.
"Our man-to-man defense was very effective," said South coach Dan DeBruycker. "We used our length well and did a good job of contesting shots and passes. We didn't give Cary-Grove any easy shots. I liked the way we played on offense. We were patient and got easy shots. We worked the ball well and found the open man."
Cary-Grove (5-8) was only able to convert 13-of-50 shots for 26 percent. The Trojans, who made only 3-of-12 from 3-point range for 25 percent, committed 17 turnovers.
"South was bigger, stronger and more physical than us," said Cary-Grove coach Ralph Schueltze. "Their man-to-man defense was tough and we had trouble getting shots. We also didn't get to the free throw line (7 times) enough."
Making 19-of-38 shots for 50 percent, the Gators dealt out 14 assists.
"We have a lot of seniors who have played together for a long time," said South senior forward Kevin Rogers. "We know each other well and we know where each other is going to be on the court. We feel we can play a half-court or a full court game. We are pleased with the way we played in the tournament and we hope we can keep playing well in the conference."
Never trailing in the game, the Gators made 5 of their first 7 shots in grabbing an early 10-2 lead. The balanced Crystal Lake South attack got 1 basket each from Rogers, Ethan Breitenstein, Ryan Price, Tyler Kretchmer and Tyler Dawson in jumping out to a 8-point lead late in the first quarter.
Cary-Grove fighting an uphill battle all afternoon, got to within 4, 28-24, on a 12-footer by Nick Richter with 2:11 left in the third quarter. The Trojans didn't get any closer. The Gators scored the final 7 points of the quarter, 5 by Rogers, to take a 11-point 35-24 lead into the final 8 minutes of play.
The Gators' biggest lead of the game was 14, 40-26, after 2 free throws by Will Ahsmann with 3:10 left in the game.
Rogers paced the Gators with 10 points and 4 assists. Breitenstein tallied 9 points with 5 assists.
Nick Richter, an all-tournament selection paced the Trojans with 9 points and 3 assists while Jon Guay added 8.