Dundee-Crown bounces back with win
After losing to Cary-Grove in the Fox Valley Conference Valley Division opener Tuesday, Dundee-Crown wanted to bounce back Friday and beat McHenry in the Chargers' conference home opener.
Ryan Smith and Kevin Cronin made sure victory happened for the Chargers.
Smith and Cronin combined for 31 points as D-C outlasted stubborn McHenry 49-45 in a Valley Division game.
“This was a nice win,” said D-C coach Lance Huber. “The kids did a good job of bouncing back from Tuesday's loss. They played with a lot of heart and emotion.”
Cronin led the Chargers with 16 points while Smith added 15 with 8 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Cronin also dished out 3 assists and had 3 steals. Smith was especially tough in the fourth quarter with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
It certainly wasn't an easy win for the Chargers (8-5, 1-1). McHenry grabbed a 41-40 lead with 3:54 left in the game on 2 free throws by Jimmy Preston. The Chargers took the lead for good at 42-41 on a layup by Cronin off an assist by Jamel Kimbrough with 2:56 to play.
Smith scored 6 of the Chargers' final 7 points and blocked 3 shots in the final 2 minutes.
“We have been focusing on team defense the last couple days in practice,” said Smith. “We were really tough on defense tonight against a very good McHenry team. You can't win with just one guy. We learned from our mistakes Tuesday in the loss to Cary-Grove and played together. This was a huge win for us. We didn't want to go to 0-2 in the conference.”
Cronin had a balanced game scoring 9 points in the first half and 7 during the final 16 minutes. Kimbrough didn't score a point, but dished out 7 assists.
“Jamel was getting double-teamed the whole game, but he did a great job of passing the ball to me,” said Cronin. “I knew if I cut to the basket and found the gaps I could get open. Coach told us one loss in the conference doesn't kill your season. This was a big win for us.
Preston paced McHenry with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists before fouling out with 12.2 seconds left in the game. Brian Madson added 12 points with 9 rebounds for the Warriors.